Young Justice: Present Future
by Angelus-v1
Summary: After being sent to Mars on a mission, Miss Martian, Superboy, and Beast Boy encounter a threat none could have ever imagined. Left alone, it could end the lives of any and every being it comes across, confronted, it can only become more dangerous. Now the three must not only find a way to defeat this new threat, but also save one of their own or risk losing them forever.
1. Chapter 1

**AN: This is a story inspired by a post I first saw on Tumblr then on Deviant Art by iskidzz. After getting permission to write out a story featuring her idea, which really got me thinking just from her short comic strip, I really began to think of how this would go. I hope she likes what I came up with using her idea and I hope you do so as well. This may not be updated every week due to my season 4 and training, but I will get it out as regularly as I can.**

Young Justice: Present Future

1.

"Okay, guys. We are several minutes from landing on Mars, so get ready."

Sitting in the pilot's chair of her Bioship, M'gann M'orzz, known as Miss Martian, took her space craft off auto pilot as she entered Mars' atmosphere.

For the past day, she and the two others making up Alpha Squad had been passing the time as they traveled from Earth to the red planet on a mission for the Justice League. The Former Green Beetle, B'arzz O'oomm, had made it clear of trouble happening on Mars and requested assistance as soon as possible. It took less than a day for the three man group to get prepared for the twenty plus hour journey with enough supplies for an extended stay if necessary. Food, water, and medical supplies for those from Earth were packed safely away as were any tools they may need ranging from advanced computers to the basic digging equipment. All were necessary for Conner and Garfield who would be more adapt using items form Earth instead of Martian technology like M'gann would use.

"Once we come within twenty miles of where we're supposed to dock, we'll be guided in automatically. So just sit back and enjoy the view."

"Oh, finally!" Jumping back in his seat, Garfield Logan, known as Beast Boy, let the living ship form its harnesses to keep him safe and in place as he eagerly waited to see Mars for himself.

Since meeting the Martian woman who would go on to save his life and become his blood sister, Garfield had only seen the Martian world through photos and mental memories M'gann would share with him. Upon learning of the mission he would be on, his excitement could barely be contained and it was through sheer will he had not asked hundreds of questions on the way there. As much as he wanted to know more about the planet, he did not want any spoilers potentially ruining the thrill of discovery he so wanted for himself.

"Just remember not to leap out until the all clear signal," M'gann said with a laugh. "Every place here is guarded so it might be taken as a hostile act. Especially of it's by someone from Earth."

"Noted."

"Is B'arzz meeting us there or do we have to find him?" Taking a seat to the right of the pilot's chair, Conner Kent, known as Superboy, stretched his arms out, working the kinks that had formed in his shoulders from leaning back in his chair for so long.

Since the trip had taken so long, the three had to keep themselves busy and had passed the time playing games or letting Garfield play around as a puppy with the two veterans tossing a ball back and forth. Then there were the private moments they had when Garfield grew tired from chasing the ball and took a nap in his chair.

Since the invasion of The Reach, and the night the two talked, really talked, in her uncle's apartment, Conner and M'gann had begun to repair their relationship since the night she tried to make him forget he was ever mad at her for using her powers in a less than ethical way. It was not easy to get back to 'just friendly' terms, considering their past, as they missed being together. Nether wanted to move too fast, but wished things were like they were before. It was a silent agreement between them to only take fragile steps in getting back to where they were.

"He's meeting us at my parents house," M'gann told him. "We, I still need to watch where I go and what I do so being seen with a green Martian would be a bad idea upon arrival unless we're related. It's just a shame you two will be more respected then me in some places."

"Do they know we'll be on League business?"

"I'm not sure, Conner. B'arzz only told me to meet him at my home, everything else is what we've been told by Aqualad that was in his message. I don't even know if there will be anyone to greet us upon arrival."

Flying at a leisurely pace, the living ship made its way over the terrain of Mars shortly after entering the planet's atmosphere. With the vessel being auto-piloted to its destination, those inside sat back and enjoyed the last bit of their ride. Heading for a small hill, the ship began to slow as a hidden door began to lower, creating a ramp and entrance for the Bioship to enter through. Above ground, the hidden entrance looked like any other part of Mars with red soil and rock. Underneath, it was a completely different story as the interior of the wide corridor they were in was made entirely of metal. Long rows of yellow lights on the four corners of the landing strip directed where the ship should go with a wide turn to the right before going further down. At the end of the long corridor, was a large opening wide enough to fit several Bioships in through, making two of the ship's passengers wonder just how large the Martian ships can get.

With wide eyes, Garfield beheld the inner hanger of Martian ships. Hundreds of the planet hopping vehicles were parked in their own hanger areas while others flew slowly across the open area they were currently traveling in. At least five different floors, each made of the red rock Mars was known for, were filled with Martian ships. Large columns separated each hanger with lights flashing on the floor of each entrance. Stalactites and stalagmites were everywhere as the entire subterranean hanger resembled a giant cave.

As they drew closer to where M'gann's Bioship was to land, they could see a vast number of green Martians moving about. Most were working in keeping the hanger running smoothly with others going about private business. Every so often, several Green Martian soldiers would make their way around the ships or the planet's population to make sure nothing illegal was occurring or to make sure the peace was kept at all times. Catching M'gann's eye, two White Martians were being harassed buy a group of Green Martians. The guards did nothing to help.

"Hey, sis," Garfield said once he saw what was going on, "we should-"

"No, Gar," M'gann told him.

"But they need-"

"We can't. We'll get in trouble with them and that could put us in the middle of a political war between Mars and the Justice League. As much as I want to, I can't risk it."

"But they're your people. You are a White Martian with ties to the Justice League, aren't you?"

"Yes, but that doesn't mean I can go around on Mars and command everyone to get along. If I could, I would have already done it."

Hearing her speak, Conner could hear the slight sadness and anger she tried to hide. After all these years of being together, it was easy for him to tell what she really felt by her tone of voice and minute facial features alone.

Touching down, the Bioship came to a stop after it paused and rotated in the air. With the cockpit now facing where they had entered from, the three could finally see just how wide the hanger area truly was as even more of the rock-made hangers stretched out underneath the surface entrance.

Within their own private hanger, the once yellow landing lights changed to white, signaling the all clear with the rear of the ship opening to allow the three to exit. Standing from their seats, Conner and Garfield were the first to make their way to the back of the ship with M'gann remaining seated. Taking a deep breath, the Martian woman had her cape and hood form on her black mission suit. Stepping onto the floor, she moved the front to close, blocking the large red 'X' crossing her chest and had her skin turn its natural white coloring before donning her hood.

"Just, breathe," she whispered to herself. "Home's not far from here."

"M'gann?"

Looking up, she saw Conner standing just a few feet away with a worried look on his face and ducked her head down.

Walking up to her, the Kryptonian tried to look her in the eye but she wouldn't have it. "M'gann?"

"Things may have gotten better for White Martians, at least that's what my parents have told me, but seeing those guards do nothing makes me see not everyone here wants or cares for equality."

Picking her head up, Conner looked into her solid red eyes. They were a sharp contrast to her auburn hair and chalk colored skin and as much as M'gann said it was not her, Conner could not see why anyone would find a flaw in her appearance, even when she was in her full Martian form.

"You've got me and Garfield to lean on. If anyone even tries to make you feel less than who you are, I'll make sure they regret that decision in an instant."

"You will?" a sad grin formed on her face as she emphasized 'You'.

"Yeah. I'm too stubborn to do otherwise."

"Whoa, this is so cool."

Looking everywhere he could from the Bioship's exit, Garfield could not get enough of the Martian hanger. It reminded him of something from Star Wars with the way it looked. The rock was fused with technology wherever a ship was docked, a comparison to the desert planet of Tatooine only with Martians and not Stormtroopers or the repetitive music. He was more than ready to see where his blood sister grew up, her home, her community, even the lifeless surface of the planet were all he could think of along with meeting her larger than large family.

As he continued to look around, two Martian guards caught sight of him and wasted no time in approaching the teen. Both were in humanoid form, nearly matching Martian Manhunter in appearance with a few differences in the facial features. As military guards, they were donned in matching blue and red attire. Blue pants with twin red stripes covered their legs with a matching blue pointed lion cloth with a red boarder hanging down to their knees. Strapped sandals resembling what Egyptians wore came up to mid calf with a sheathed knife on their left legs just above the ankle. Like Martian Manhunter, both wore red 'X' crossing their chests with shoulder guards and blue capes flowing down their backs until they almost touched the floor. The last item they had were their weapons, golden spears in the shape of hunting rifles with dual tips, one longer than the other, with a barrel between them. The trigger was within easy reach where they held them should the need to use force rose.

"Off worlder, state your name and business," one of them, the taller and thinner of the two, said once they arrived next to where Garfield stood.

Jumping from the sound of the voice, the shape shifter quickly turned and grew stiff. Unlike most of the time, he was in his true human form with no fur or tail like he had grown accustomed to having. He also still wore his red and white Martian suit but also had a backpack with him.

"Um, uh," he stuttered.

"Young one," the second Martian guard said as he stepped closer, "state your name and business here on Mars or we will be forced to take you in for questioning."

"Um, I...I'm Garfield Logan from the...the Justice League on a mission. For them."

"Garfield?" Coming out from the front of the ship, Conner, who was holding hands with M'gann to offer her support, saw the two guards standing before the green team member. "What's going on?"

"You," the taller Martian said. "State your name and business on Mars."

"J'sonn?" M'gann said once she caught sight of the shorter of the two.

"M...M'gann?" Handing off his weapon to the other Martian, the second of the guards hurried into the ship as M'gann raced past Conner. Meeting on the ramp of the craft, the two hugged with their eyes glowing brightly.

"M'gann, it's been so long." J'sonn said once their eyes faded back to their normal red coloring and separated from the hug.

"I know, I'm just so happy to see you again. How have you been doing?" M'gann asked.

"Great. I got a job in the military and was assigned to guard the hanger a few months ago. What about you, Miss Heroine of Earth?"

Blushing, M'gann looked him over again. "Well, I've been real busy ever since leaving Mars and having a great time on Earth with Uncle J'onn teaching me everything he knows. I'm even working with the Justice League now."

"That is great. I remember you telling me all about one day working with our uncle and his friends."

As the two continued to speak, Garfield leaned closer to Conner. "Do you know this guy?"

"Not really. I've heard her talk about a J'sonn or Jason before but I can't remember if he's her brother or cousin," Conner answered.

"Ah, one of her seventeen brothers, right?"

"And twelve sisters."

"Oh, what am I thinking?" Turning back to his partner, J'sonn extended a hand his way with M'gann looking at the other guard. "Ra'nn, this is my younger sister, M'gann. She's the one I've been telling you about who went to Earth."

"Oh yes, the famous Miss Martian of the Justice League. J'sonn has told me plenty about you."

"Oh, um, thanks," giving a smile, M'gann looked around for a moment before asking her brother a question over a mind link.

"Of course, sister. Not every guard is against White Martians," J'sonn told her. "You can feel free to shed your hood and take on whatever coloring you want as long as I'm with you."

Nodding. M'gann took her hood off, exposing her white skin before having it turn back to green and her eyes to their usual brown.

"For a White Martian, you didn't look half bad," Ra'nn commented. "But you look stunning green." He then gave her a smile, not noticing the twitch in Conner's face.

"Thank you." Motioning for her two teammates to step forward, M'gann placed her hands on Garfield's shoulders. "J'sonn, Ra'nn, I would like for you to meet Garfield Logan, my Earth brother."

"Hi," Garfield said with a smile and wave.

"Earth brother?" J'sonn asked. Looking from the two green colored people to the other member of the group, and remembering how they came out together, the Martian guard engaged a link with his sister. "Are you sure he's an Earth brother or are you not telling me something?"

"What? No, he's...he's my blood brother. I saved his life by having my blood match his and he gained the ability to shift into creatures he's come in contact with. Why? What did you..." Instantly, M'gann's cheeks began to burn. "J'sonn!'

"Well, you did tell us you had a boyfriend in one of the messages you sent us. And since the boy didn't feel as if he were all Martian, I just made an assumption."

Wishing she still had her hood on, M'gann cleared her throat as her brother had a rather large smile from her reaction to what he was thinking. "Well, um, I...I would also like for you to meet," she moved over to Conner and took him by the arm to bring him closer to the guards, "Conner Kent."

"Pleased to finally meet you in person," J'sonn said as the two engaged in a hand shake. "M'gann has told us all about you and how she is sweet on you."

"J'sonn!" M'gann whisper shouted as Conner tried not to grin and actually turned a slight shade of red himself.

"Um, yeah, we," before the Kryptonian could say anything to the guard, Garfield popped up between him and M'gann.

"Yup, their two peas in a pod alright." The teen then brought them closer together.

"Such a shame," Ra'an told J'sonn over a mind link. "You're sister could do so much better than a human." He then gave Conner another look over, noting he red 'S' shield on his long sleeve shirt. "At least he's not too ugly. In the meantime, we should get going. We still have four more sections of the hanger to walk."

Shrugging off what his partner said, J'sonn took back his spear as it was handed to him. "Our mother should be home with Lu'sa and B'th. As for father, he might still be at work in the capitol with the other Martian delegates. They'll be so happy to see you again."

"Was there another with them? A B'arzz O'oomm?" Donning her hood again, M'gann had another back pack float over to her from the Bioship.

"I think they said something about company being there later on but I didn't get a name. Anyways, I'll be home in time for dinner so tell mom I won't be late this time. We have so much catching up to do."

"I will." With a smile, M'gann sent her brother the equivalent of a human hug over their mental link and sent her love to him before having her skin turn back to white. "Oh, I can't wait to see the others."

"Bet they can't wait to see you too, sis." Adjusting his pack, Garfield hopped down the ramp and got a good view of the interior of the hanger.

"Feeling better now?" Slinging is pack on one shoulder, Conner came up behind M'gann and was pleased to see her smiling again.

"So much better, thanks." She then arched an eyebrow. "And was that jealousy I felt when Ra'nn said that about me?"

"I don't know what you're talking about." Conner thought with a grin.

Never having been to Mars themselves, and only seeing pictures or mental images provided by M'gann, Conner and Garfield were a bit awestruck by what they were witnessing. The hanger, as busy as it was, was nothing compared to what lay beyond it.

Checking in with the guards at the entrance to the ship storage area went somewhat smoothly with the only problem being two of them were from Earth and were questioned of their purposes being on Mars. Immediately following that, the three journeyed up a gentle slope to where the 'real show' was.

If there was one word to describe what they were seeing, it would be 'marketplace'. Hundreds of Martians, most in humanoid form with others in their true form, walked about defined paths as they stopped at small shop-like booths. With so many Martians in one place, the noise was loud, a surprise being they were telepathic. Some of the small shops had banners with Martian writing to attract customers to what they were selling. Others had workers pandering to the masses in an effort to get them to shop at their booths. Then there were the ones selling food who did not have to do or say anything to attract customers, the smell did the work for them.

"Whoa, this looks like a flea market." Taking in everything he could, Garfield's head shot back and forth so much, the other two thought he would give himself whiplash.

"This is just one of several hanger shopping centers," M'gann explained. "Since most goods are flown from one part of Mars to the other, they just find it easier to set up shops close by. There's another market place by my house but nowhere near as large as this one. But nicer to, you know. Just keep your head down and try not to draw too much attention to yourselves."

Taking the lead, M'gann kept her hood securely drawn over her head and made sure not too much skin would show. Conner and Garfield shared a look, not liking how she was acting and not liking the way she would be treated by others just for the color of her skin. On the way to the planet, she had told them White Martians were expected to remain white as it was quite easy to pick up on each other's races. Doing otherwise would be cause for arrest, at least that was what the old law stated. It was just better to be safe than sorry.

It took some time to get through the crowd of Martian people. The pathways were nearly impassable with adults and children moving from booth to booth with their purchases. Keeping the link up between them, M'gann kept them informed of what some of the things were. There was the woman who specialized in making Martian jewelry. The green and purple gems she used were the most sought after and made beautiful bracelets and necklaces. Then there was the couple who hand crafted various decorations for the home with some of the most delicate looking material the two Earthlings had ever seen. While it looked like silk, M'gann assured them it was as strong as burlap. Both were considered luxuries to own, the jewelry more than the other as any Martian could mimic it, but owning the beautiful adornments put them on a level above the other, poorer martians.

Catching Garfield's attention, a nearby group of what looked like teenage Martians laughed as they ate a stick with meat skewered on it. Looking closer, he instantly knew he would not be ordering any as it looked to have tentacles coming out of the sides. However, being a vegetarian, he was mainly interested in seeing it up close but not actually eating it. He then grew excited when he saw a bulldog looking creature being walked by muscular Martian male. The animal even came up to him and sniffed his leg before being pulled back.

"Sweet, Martian animals." Grinning widely, Garfield kept his eyes open for any more animals he should come across.

"You'll see plenty of them later on," M'gann told him. "My mother owns something similar to a cat and there's always bird-like animals at the parks." She then looked at the jewelry seller who held up a handful of necklaces but did not slow down as they kept on their way.

"I think we've got company." Telling them what was happening, Conner had M'gann look to her left where two Martian men were keeping pace with them.

The two did not appear to be guards, given how they were dressed. Each wore tan pants with matching military style boots. Like the other Martian men, they only wore the typical red 'X' across their chests, making sure their muscles were showing to add to their intimidating size.

Moving between the two and M'gann, Conner kept his sight on the path ahead while Garfield was brought closer to his blood sister. "We need to find a way to lose them."

"There should be a fork in the pathway up ahead." M'gann sent over the link. "It circles around to the sides. Take the left and we can lose them where the shopkeepers store their garbage. We can lose them in there then continue on to my home."

With a plan in place, the three picked up speed to a brisk walk to not attract the same attention as they would if they were running. Needless to say, Conner and Garfield stuck out like sore thumbs, Conner more than ether of them. The youth could pass for a Martian child in human form but Conner did not have that luxury and reaching the garbage area was their only chance at getting out of the sight of the two following them.

With the to Martians still on their trail, the small group took the left pathway and disappeared around a corner. A few seconds later, the ones following them arrived and looked around for any sign of them. Engaging their mental link, the Martians split up to search the area for the three. One took the far right section with passageways lined with bags of garbage at least twenty feet tall with the other taking the left side with metal containers stacked just as high.

"Conner, where are you?" Moving through the bag area, M'gann and Garfield made sure to not leave a trail of any sort as they hurried through one of three paths created by those who stacked the garbage.

"Can't say. I took a right then a left after splitting up. Now I'm going right again." Unlike the bag area, the containers only had one path to follow, making the Kryptonian hurry to avoid being caught by someone capable of bringing him down with a single thought.

"Okay, Gar. Go." Splitting up from each other, M'gann went to the right while her brother went left.

Running where his sister pointed out, Garfield took several quick turns, making sure the other Martian was not following, before morphing into a hawk. Climbing into the air, the green bird looked down and spotted the hooded M'gann with two bags keeping a steady lead over the pursuing Martian male. On the other side of the stacks of garbage, he could see Conner make his way through the single path. There really was not too much he could do to lose the one following him. There were not enough turns, just long stretches of passages for him to run through. When he looked back to where his blood sister was, he could not see her pursuer anymore.

"Sis," Garfield communicated telepathically, "I can't see the one chasing you anymore. I think he went in Martian camo mode and Conner's running out of room."

"What do you mean, Gar?" Heading down another pathway, M'gann tried to expand her mental awareness in an attempt to find the Martian chasing her but found something blocking that part of her telepathy. "Gar, I can't-GAH!"

Hitting her from behind, the Martian landed a flying kick to her back. As she fell forward, both of her bags skittered across the floor into the wall of garbage.

"White Martian," the Martian male said as he came back from camouflage mode. "White Martian, don't you realize where you are? This is a Green Martian market. Your kind is not welcome here or anywhere. At least you ran to where you belong, the trash, with the rest of your kind."

Sneering, M'gann stood back up and faced the Martian. With her eyes glowing brightly, she held her arm out and tried to mentally blast him back but found herself unable to do so. Her failed attack left her wide open to receive a blast from her aggressor and went flying into a garbage bag wall. Several bags fell on her as she groaned and tried to get back to her feet.

"What was that?" the Martian asked. "You call that a push? I felt breezes stronger than that."

Wondering the same thing, M'gann looked at her hand a moment before holding it out again. Like before, nothing happened. For some reason, she was unable to perform the most basic of her powers. A mental push was one of the first things a Martian was capable of doing as a child. It was as simple as communicating mentally or having objects floating in the air.

"See, White Martians like you are weak and the reason they don't deserve to be on the same level as the Green." With is eyes shining bright, the Martian male began to attack M'gann's mind.

Putting up a mental barrier, M'gann was glad she was able to block most of the male's attack. Her head still hurt but not as bad as it would if she were completely defenseless. Wincing from the assault, the team member fell to a knee and tried to build her defense back up from having it torn down little by little.

As the Martian evilly grinned at what he was doing, he neglected to see a green hawk morph to become a kangaroo and planted both feet in his back. The force was great enough to send him flying into the garbage where he was buried and slipped into unconsciousness.

"Stay away from my sister!" Garfield yelled once he shifted back to his monkey/human self. Kneeling beside his blood sister, Garfield checked up on her to make sure she was not hurt in any way. "You alright?"

"Yeah. Yeah, I'm fine. He just caught me unaware." She had hoped the small fib would be enough to satisfy her blood brother. She did not want to have him worry about her more than he already was.

On the other side of the garbage wall, Conner had, had enough of running. He wanted this chase over with but knew he could not go head to head with a Martian who would use his mental abilities to end the fight before it had a chance to start.

Rounding another corner, he shed his backpack and left it where the Martian could see it, hoping it would give him incentive to keep coming after him. The plan worked as the second Martian male stopped to investigate the discarded bag. Looking around, he grinned as he knew he was on the trail of one of the off worlders.

Standing, he resumed his sprint when he rounded the corner and came face to fist with Conner. The hit was hard enough to make him flip several times before crashing into the ground unconscious. Standing over the passed out Martian, Conner kicked him in the side to make sure he was down before picking his bag back up. Looking at one of the containers, he got an idea and reached down to grab hold of the Martian's leg then drug him to the container he picked out.

With a swift hit, Conner used his hand as a wedge to puncture the seam between the two front doors and pried them open. A horrid stink of rotten food flooded out, making him cover his nose and mouth. Glancing down at the passed out Martian, Conner gripped him by the red 'X' across his chest and threw him in. The male landed face first in the rubbage and stayed there as the Kryptonian shut the doors on him.

Back where M'gann and Garfield were, she was just getting to her feet with her brother's help when the side wall began to shake. Thinking it was the other Martian coming to attack them, they both got ready to fight when the bags fell to the ground and Conner stood where they once were. He wasted no time in getting to the two once he saw M'gann standing on weakened legs and Garfield halfway holding her up.

"What happened?" Conner asked once he got to their side.

"The Martian guy surprise attacked her. He hit her from behind then tried to mind blast her or something," Garfield explained.

Looking her over, Conner removed her hood she had just slipped back on. Her red eyes, normally vibrant, were somewhat duller then he remembered. "M'gann, what did he do? Are you okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Conner," M'gann assured him. "He just got the drop on me from above and tried to have a mental battle when I wasn't ready. Gar came and helped me though."

"Where is he?"

"In the garbage somewhere. He won't be bothering us any time soon." Replacing her hood to block most of her white skin from being seen by others, M'gann picked up her bag but never had time to slip in on as Conner reached out and took it. "Thanks."

"So where to now?" Garfield asked.

"We head to my home. Hopefully we won't run into anymore separatists along the way."

"How far away is it?"

"It's about a fifteen minute walk. We could fly it but we risk drawing more attention to ourselves. Better if we stay in the crowd and lose ourselves in there."

"But what if more Green Martians see us in there?"

"That's the thing," M'gann told her blood brother. "My home is in the middle of a White Martian safe zone. The closer we get, the safer we are. Once we're there, we don't have to worry about any others trying to start trouble or the guards in that sector will be alerted."

Before she turned to lead the way, she caught sight of the way Conner was staring at her. "I'm fine, Conner. Honest."

Not wanting to press the matter with Garfield close by, the Krypto-human let it go for the time being and gave a nod. If he possessed the ability to read minds, he would have known M'gann was wondering what exactly happened with her powers while fighting the Martian, and why she was now having difficulty in trying to establish their mental link.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN: Thanks for the reviews, guys and gals. And also, thanks for pointing the errors out, its one of the reasons why I like this site, which helps me improve. Like I said, this will be slowly updated with everything I'm involved in as well as my other story so please bear with me on this.**

**Thowell3 - Yes. This is part of Skidzz or FantasyMind93's universe.**

**Ben A - I really don't know how long of a story this will be. I was thinking maybe five chapters between 4,000-5,000 words.**

**FantasyMind93 - So glad you liked the beginning and what I have in store for later on. Also hope your enjoying Darkness Falls and the sequal, Titans. Easier and fun more for me writing about these three.**

2.

Reaching the final stretch of rocky road, M'gann, Conner, and Garfield had just entered another neighborhood nearly identical to the last. Like the many Martian houses, these were also built into the red rock, reminding the two Earthborn visitors of something out of a fantasy movie, only without the short furry footed characters. Metal posts with large orbs of light lined each side of the pathway with the equivalent of driveways leading up to the front of the rock had gardens of alien plants growing near the structures while others had various statues for decorations. A few had blue markings over the doors while others remained blank, and then there were the ones with yellow markings of a completely different design.

"Hey, sis," Garfield said, looking around as he went from walking normally to walking sideways, then backwards, then back to normal. "What's with all the weird paintings on the doors?"

"They're used to mark the different positions Martians have," M'gann answered. "Blue means they're members of the temples of priests and priestesses, and yellow means they work for the government. My house has one, given my father is a member of the council in our sector."

"And everyone's oaky with you being a White Martian here?" Conner asked from beside the hoodless M'gann.

"Of course. This is a safe zone for White Martians. Remember that sign with the white marker we passed on the way in? That's how you know we're in a safe zone. Even the guards here don't care if your of either race, so long as you mind the law."

"White safe zone, blue holy people, yellow government, noted." Taking one last look at the houses they passed by, Garfield hurried to catch back up to his blood sister when she stopped in her tracks.

"Well, here we are. My house." Looking at a large rock dwelling, M'gann took a long look at the home she had left so many years ago for a second chance on a planet where no one knew her.

From the post light, the pathway leading to the house was lined with small statues of Martian deities. Some were meant to bring wellness and fortune to those living within, others were meant for protecting the individual members of the M'orzz family, then there was the large lone one meant for peace for all Martians.

As the three walked up to the door, they passed by a small garden full of Martian plants. Blues, purples, oranges, and yellows filled the rock garden with a variety of plants meant for seasoning food or to eat outright. A smell similar to bacon wafted from the purple plant, making the stomachs of the three growl with hunger after their long walk.

Standing at the entrance to her old home, M'gann could hardly wait to see her family in person after over five years. She couldn't tell if she was nervous or excited to see them and just simply tried not to let herself seem to jumpy in anticipation. Hoping she had enough of her abilities working, she concentrated as hard as she could and sent a message to those inside. Breathing a sigh of relief, the white skinned Martian was glad to at at least be able to contact her family inside. In no time at all the door to her home opened.

Away from the household the three black ops members were at, a tall, Green Martian in his true form with a red 'H' like chest piece, made his way down the street. With him was a brown satchel under his left arm, loaded to near overflowing with important items he had chosen to bring along with him. Beside him was another Green Martian in humanoid form dressed in a large black cloak with silver Martian designs decorating it. Both were headed for the same destination with a look of defeat about them, only it was easier to read on the humanoid looking one.

"Do you think the council will at least consider what we have presented to them?" The one in his true form Mentally asked his partner.

"I do not know, B'arzz. I do not know." The humanoid Martian shook his head then sighed heavily. "I had hoped my position with them would have at least the minority listen to get things started but all they seen to be thinking about is a jump in our society. There is no proof what you had found down there, that I have studied, will be of any use. All I found was the possibility of it being detrimental to us."

"And now it seems to not want us around it. It is clearly a sign of danger when something like that is sentient. So old, yet new at the same time. Impossible."

"All we can hope for is for someone opening their eyes and seeing the dangers presented here."

Nearing the house where M'gann and her compatriots were, the two picked up on a loud ruckus of noise, both vocal and mental.

"What is...M'gann?!" Abandoning B'arzz, the cloaked Martian took two long bounds before flying through the air and went straight for the dwelling the noise came from.

Using his mental abilities, B'arzz chuckled as he watched his friend hurry home.

Inside the dwelling of the M'orzz family, M'gann was in the middle of a massive group hug by her mother and a number of her sisters and brothers. The Martians, in their humanoid forms, were all exclaiming their excitement to see her with their telepathy enveloping her with the human equivalent of another hug.

"Oh, M'gann, I have missed you so."

"How was Earth?"

"Did you miss us too?"

"Is it just like on TV?"

"Are you coming back home for good?"

"Did you bring is something?"

"Can you take me with you if you go back?"

"Who's the cute green guy with you?" That comment made Garfield blush.

"How many bad guys have you beaten?"

"Are Earthlings as strange as they look on TV?"

"Have you met Zorro?"

"Where all have you been?"

"Who's the big guy? He looks mean." Conner rolled his eyes at that one.

"Guys, guys," M'gann said with a large smile from all the questions, "I can't keep up."

Watching their teammate be swarmed by her family, Conner and Garfield had grins of their own. Both enjoyed seeing her in such a happy mood after everything they have been through recently. Conner himself hadn't seen her smile as brightly as she was in a long time and had found himself happy she was happy.

"M'gann?"

Turning to see the origin of the new voice, the two Earthling males saw another Martian Male standing in the doorway to the house.

"Dad?" M'gann said once her family cleared enough for her to see. "Dad!"

Father and daughter wasted no time in hurrying to each other, taking Conner and Garfield by surprise as the elder Martian phased through them to get to M'gann. Reaching each other, both embraced tightly with light tears dripping from their eyes.

"Dad, I've missed you so much," M'gann said as she hugged her father tighter.

"I can not even begin to tell you how much I have missed you, M'gann." Separating slightly, the elder Martian put his forehead to his daughter's and shared his memories with her with her choking out a laugh at what she was shown.

It was not long after the sharing of memories when the two separated, wiping tears from their faces and regaining their composure. M'gann then took her father by the arm as with her mother and brought them over to her teammates.

"Mom, Dad, I would like for you to meet two special people from Earth." Motioning for Garfield to come close, she stood behind him with her hands on his shoulders. "This is Garfield Logan, Beast Boy, my Earth brother. I saved his life by giving him some of my blood and he gained my shape shifting ability."

"Hi," Garfield cheerfully said with a bright smile, "pleased to meet you."

Sticking his hand out, the teen boy shook M'gann's father's hand first then her mother's.

"Very nice meeting you, Garfield," the elder female said.

"We have heard about you through transmissions from our daughter," her father told him. "We are amazed at your bravery for someone so young. It is a pleasure to make your acquaintance."

"And it's so cool meeting Sis' parents." Even though he was around M'gann nearly all the time, Garfield still could not believe he was meeting other Martians, and on Mars no less.

Turning to the larger of the two males from Earth, M'gann had a smile she just could not hide as she wrapped her arms around Conner's right arm and brought him over to her parents. "Mom, Dad, this, this is someone very special to me. I would like for you to meet, Conner Kent, Superboy."

"Now you," M'gann's mother said as she moved in to hug the Kryptonian, "we have heard so much about."

"Yes," her father joined in, "about how you aided our daughter in fighting Earth villains."

"And how you rescued her from harm."

"And how you two are always looking out for each other."

"And not to mention your relationship." Moving back with her hands still on Conner's shoulders, M'gann's mother had a rather large smile claiming her face. "We are so happy she has found someone who can make her happy and give her a life she deserves. There is no doubt she will do the same to you."

Looking the Kryptonian over, M'gann's father gave him a firm handshake and smile. "Welcome to our family, Conner."

"Um," Conner said as he looked at M'gann with a surprised look.

"Um, d...dad? Mom? We're, um, we're not like that," M'gann nervously told them. "I know I haven't sent any messages to you in a while, but, well..."

"It's a long story," Conner told them.

"Yeah. Long, story."

Across the landscape of the Martian surface, four members of the Martian Scientific Council traveled to what was known as a quarantined area of the planet. The bioship they were in resembled a red bullet with steaks of blue running down its sides and a window similar to one of Earth's jet fighters. Small in appearance, it was the perfect size to 'fly below the radar' for the low-key mission they were on.

Banking around one of the many mountains along the surface, the small ship followed a shallow valley until a large square indention came into view where it quickly slowed before coming to a complete stop. Hovering, the aircraft lowered a bottom hatch with steps forming to allow the crew it carried out. Dust puffed into the air as their Boot covered, human-like feet touched ground with the sound of small rocks crunching under their boots. A large container, telepathically lifted, floated behind them with two of the four carrying tools, one holding a spear weapon, and the lead Martian holding a scanner.

"Picking up anything?" one of the tool holding Martians asked. He and his compatriot wore matching uniforms of red with tan accents along the wrists and ankles of their full body suits. Patches on their shoulders identified them as members of a mining crew working for the Martian high council, the ones responsible for sending them all to their current location.

"Nothing out of the ordinary. Just some readings showing an increased amount of synapse waves." Turning back to the others, the Martian with the scanner stared each in the eye. "Make this quick. Our orders were to dig whatever this is out and take it to the science center for study. B'arzz and M'lder are to not have any contact with it regardless if it's sight, touch, or mental."

Turning to the one carrying the weapon, the lead Martian nodded to him. Should they show up, they are not to interfere with our business. Keep them out and use force if you have to."

"Yes, sir," the guard, dressed like the others of the military, nodded back before turned his back to the dig site and stood perfectly still with his eyes scouring the horizon for any sign of other ships.

"You two, with me." Floating into the air, the lead Martian took point in flying down to the bottom of the dig site, his long yellow and blue robe flapped behind him as he and the others traveled swiftly.

Traveling down the side of the large quarry-like area, the three Martians descended three levels dug into the Martian earth. Each level resembled a large step with Martian tools left by the workers before they had to leave on government orders after 'something' was uncovered. News of the discovery did not take long to circulate as the lead archeologist, B'arzz O'oomm, quickly spread the word after alerting the lead scientist on the dig, M'lder M'orzz. What began as just another dig for recourses turned out to be something far more greater than any of them could have imagined.

Sitting halfway in the dirt and rock of the bottom of the dig site, an egg shaped mass glowed a faint pinkish red as if a dimmer switch was being played with. Upon first glance, one would think the object was made of a thick plastic, but that was not the case. Closer inspection by M'lder and B'arzz had them discover it was like glass or quartz, and had no seams, edges, or flaws whatsoever, almost as if it were created by a being instead of forming within the ground. Then there were the mental readings coming from it.

"Okay, you, start digging around the base of the artifact, you, free it from the rear. It looks to be embedded in the rock rather securely." Taking another reading, the lead Martian saw no changes in the object. "And keep your minds closed to it. B'arzz's notes indicate it may have tried to tamper with his thoughts."

Doing as ordered, the two workers began to free what was deemed as the most important discovery on Mars since the Earth first found Martians inhabiting the red planet. It was not until they were about ready to strike at the hard packed dirt when the object had its light pulsate slightly faster.

"Sir?" one of the Martian diggers asked as the other brought his tool, resembling a pick axe, back down to waist level.

"Incredible." Bringing his scanner back up, the lead Martian took another reading. "The synapse readings...they've increased."

"Has it done this before?" the other digger asked.

"Not that I recall. M'lder did say it responded when he touched it." Placing the scanner on the ground, the lead Martian carefully made his way closer to the glowing egg-shaped orb.

Hesitant at first, the Martian scientist reached out, stretching his fingers to become longer until he was less than an inch from touching it when the scanner on the ground began to tick wildly. Looking back at his electronic device, the lead Martian heard a low growl come from the object before him. As he tuned back around, the other two backed up, their tools clutched tightly to their chests with their red eyes growing wide. Before any could utter a word, vocally or mentally, the lead Martian's body went ridged and a soul shredding, screeching howl came flooding out of his mouth, shooting skyward as his eyes rolled to the back of his head.

Back by the bioship where the guard stood, everything was as it should be with nothing but quiet around him, that was until the horrifying screech that came flooding out of the bottom of the site. Running over to the edge of the chasm, the lone guard brought his weapon up, ready to fire, when the screech finally stopped, lasting well over a minute.

Sending a mental message out to the three in the area, he waited for but received no response. Torn between going back to the ship and alerting the other members of the council or checking on the others, the guard had his mind made up for him when one of the Martian tools came flying at him, burying its sharpened point in the ground near his feet, its handle covered in the purple colored blood of a Martian. Looking for the one responsible, the guard raised his weapon when the one at the cause of it all came into view from their near invisible camouflage mode.

Getting off two shots of his spear weapon, the guard saw both heat blasts reflected quite easily before his weapon was ripped from his hands and crushed into a mangled ball of metal. Before he could react and attack mentally, he felt his entire body become paralyzed as he was lifted up into the air and brought closer to the being floating before him.

Letting out a scream, the last one he would ever make, the Martian guard felt as if his mind was being ripped from his body along with his brain and very flesh.

"M'gann, enough. There won't be any left for the rest of us if you keep eating them all." Stirring a large spoon around a pot, Mrs. M'orzz giggled at her daughter eating another of a Martian fruit.

Pulling a purple peach-like fruit from her mouth, M'gann, now her usual green skin color sans cape, giggled as some of the juice ran down her chin. "Sorry, mom. But it's just been so long since I've had Mars Berries. I nearly forgot how good they taste."

Tossing her a cloth to wipe her mouth with, Mrs. M'orzz grinned at her daughter. "At this rate, you won't leave any for dessert."

"Mom, I'm gonna go back outside. I wanna bring Garfield another book of animals to change into." Running past the kitchen, one of M'gann's many sisters headed for the door to join her other siblings in watching the green teen morph.

"Okay, Esm'relda."

"And tell Gar not to tire himself out too much," M'gann told her sister as she went out the door.

"You treat Garfield like a son," Mrs. M'orzz pointed out. "Care to tell me of the tight connection you two have for each other?"

Getting up from the table, M'gann brought over a pile of peeled potatoes. One of a few Earth based vegetables to surprisingly grow on Mars. "Well, I met him when he was eight while on a mission. There was an attack on the animal sanctuary he and is mother lived on and he got hurt. After I transferred some of my blood to him to save his life, he referred to me as is blood sister and his mother said I was like family to them after that. Conner and I would go visit him every so often and we just grew close. Some years later, we were visiting him again and got news of his mother being involved in a serious accident, which we found was staged to murder her by a dictator. He had no other family, so I offered to take him in. Needless to say, it was a major surprise to find out he could change into animals later on. I've trained him, took care of him, and-"

"And he sees you as a mother figure. The boy's very lucky to know you. There are not many Martians, or beings for that manner, that would do what you have done for him." Looking at her daughter, Mrs. M'orzz gave her a smile. "I'm very proud of you, M'gann."

Smiling sadly, M'gann let out a sigh. "You really shouldn't be."

"What do you mean?"

Looking back to the living room, M'gann made sure no one was in there when her mother said her name again. "I've...I've gotta tell you something, mom."

Sensing her daughter's feelings, Mrs. M'orzz took the pot off the stove and set it on the counter beside it. "Does this have to do with the long story you mentioned when we got the wrong impression of you and Conner?"

Nodding, M'gann muttered, "Yeah."

Motioning for her daughter to move to the table, Mrs. M'orzz had her sit down with her so they were side by side. The look on M'gann's face spoke volumes about what was on her mind. "You do not have to go into detail, but it would be good to get this off your chest."

"That's just it, mom. I've said how sorry I was but still feel as if it's not enough. That whatever I do won't be enough after..."

"After what, dear?" her mother said after a pause.

Letting out a sigh, M'gann looked her mother in the eyes. "I did something really bad, mom. And it nearly cost me everything I am and everyone I love."

Reaching out for her hand, Mrs. M'orzz gave her daughter's a firm squeeze then opened up a mental link with her. "You can tell or show me anything. You're home. You're safe. And I love you."

Swallowing a lump in her throat, M'gann gave a small nod. "It started last year, near the end. We were on a mission when the guy we caught refused to tell us anything. I had been working on a new use of my telepathic powers by...by forcibly pulling information out of the heads of the enemy."

"M'gann..."

"I know, I know," M'gann whined. "But in my defense, we needed to now what he was hiding and when I first started, Robin told me it was okay to read the bad guy's minds, so I saw no other way to get the information, but instead of simply reading his mind, I...I ripped his-"

"M'gann," Mrs. M'orzz said sternly, "Do you remember what we told you about White Martians? One reason they are so despised is because of this ability. All Martians have the ability to do this but the Whites saw it as nothing wrong. It's because of the actions of a few that this ability is seen as a disgusting invasion of the most sacred and private thing all beings have, their mind."

"I know. I learned that the hard way." With her eyes glowing, M'gann sent the memories she had of when she ripped the memories out of Kaldur on that mission to rescue their comrades and free captured kids from The Reach. "That, that came much later. And it's what opened my eyes. But it was what I tried to do to, to Conner that, that should have made me see what I was doing."

Outside the M'orzz homestead, M'gann's siblings were gathered in a circle to watch Garfield morph into different animals from Earth. The books they brought out to him had pictures and information on a number of Earth's animal populace and he was more than happy to show off his skills. Lions, deer, birds, snakes, any land animal he had come across and touched had the brothers and sisters awing in amazement as they had never got to see the animals of their sister planet up close. They especially enjoyed it when he morphed into a gorilla.

"It seems your friend is the star of the show, so to speak," Mister M'orzz said as he, B'arzz, and Conner stood nearby and watched the group of young Martians.

"He loves showing off his powers," Conner told him. "The first day he discovered them, he spent nearly all day as a monkey and leapt through the rafters of our base."

"Interesting friends you have, Conner. B'arzz spared no detail in describing them. I only wish I could meet all of my daughter's friends in person." He then leaned in close to the Kryptonian. "And is it true she once dated a fish creature?"

Clearing his throat, Conner changed positions and moved his hands behind his back. "Least said about that the better."

"Whatever you did to get her back, thank you."

"Um, (clears throat), well uh, she, she did it on her own. We just had a long talk in her uncle's apartment before she left him."

"Well, whatever was said, I am glad she is with you. Her with a fish significant other does not sound appealing to me."

"You and me both," Conner said with a light smirk. Unknown to him, B'arzz was having a mental conversation with M'gann's father. The two Martians mentally laughed at the feelings radiating off Conner when they spoke about him and M'gann. It was just good to know a father, regardless of species, could trust a young man with his daughter.

"Since it is late in the day," B'arzz said while watching Garfield become an elephant to the delight of the Martian youths, "we will strike out for the dig site first thing in the morning. It is a long journey from Earth without the aid of additional thrusters, so a good nights sleep will do you good."

"Of course, Conner, you will have to sleep in a separate room from my daughter," Mister M'orzz stated. "I may be happy you make her happy, but you two will not make each other happy under my roof. Or I will be unhappy. You understand, right?"

With his face turning red, Conner uncrossed his arms and inhaled. "I...think I'll go see if Gar needs any help with...anything."

Both Martians chuckled as they watched the Kryptonian hastily retreat from their vicinity.

Inside the house, M'gann and her mother were just finishing up their psychic conversation. Along with her words, the younger Martian showed images of when she first began to discover her ability to rip apart minds for information, when her teammates first saw her perform it, and when she tried to manipulate Conner's mind to make him forget he was ever mad at her for not caring about the consequences of her actions, so long as they were used as a means to an end. Not only did that surprise her mother, but seeing how she behaved afterwards in dealing with an accused murderer whom she thought was a friend turned traitor, and how she began dating someone else almost immediately after Conner, had the elder Martian grow disappointed in her daughter's actions and choices.

"I'm sorry, mom." Leaning back in her chair, M'gann wrapped her arms around herself and looked at the ground, which seemed to become much more interesting given how she felt. She knew what she did disappointed her mother and could only imagine how her father would take the news at what she has done.

"M'gann," Mrs. M'orzz said as she scooted closer, "while I can see why you thought this ability would be good for what you do, I hope you have come to the realization that it is not right. Like I said, White Martians, like you, see this as a way to, to get what they want as a last resort. It is very tempting in its use but also very dangerous, to those you use it against and yourself. It's the right of all living beings to have a private mind and this power perverts that by erasing all they are."

She then placed a hand on her daughter's shoulder, causing the younger Martian to look up at her again. "You did the right thing. You have begun to make amends, to repair what you have destroyed. This Kaldur is very fortunate you were able to help him and put his mind back the way it was. But, honey, what made you think erasing the anger from Co-"

"I just didn't want to lose him, mom," M'gann sniffed. "I can't. I love him."

"Then make sure he knows. If he's giving you a second chance, prove to him you deserve it like he has proven to you, you can trust him completely." Mrs. M'orzz then lifted her daughter's chin slightly. "Things will work out in the end if you work hard enough for them. Trust me."

"Oh, mom." Leaning in, M'gann hugged her mother tight, not wanting to let her go for a good while.

"I am always here for you, daughter. Anything you have to say or ask, I am always here."

Opening her eyes, M'gann knew there was one other thing she needed to tell her mother. She tightened her arms around her and gave one more squeeze before moving back into her chair. "There is, one more thing."

"Don't tell me you have not ended things with the fish."

Letting out a choked laugh, M'gann shook her head. "No, that, that ship has sunk. Doomed to end before it started. Never got anywhere near what Conner and I had."

"Good. Because you and him did not sound appealing to me in the least."

"You and all my friends share the same feelings on that one. But this is about something different."

"Well, what is it, sweetie? You can tell me anything."

Taking a deep breath, M'gann moved to the edge of her seat. "Mom, ever since I came back, when we were attacked by those two Martian separatists, I've notice something about my powers. I...I think I'm losing them."


	3. Chapter 3

**AN: Don't know how many of you look at my Tumblr from here, but if you do take a glance at it, it has been taken down and I have created another account. Long story short, I was severely taken out of context by several people and my dashboard was flooded instantaneously by their followers. My new one will be up later with some posts from my old one being put up, ie. drawings, story ideas, and such.**

3.

Silently creeping across the floor of the Martian home of the M'orzz family, M'gann made sure to slip out from under the covers of her bed to not wake her sisters who were still sound asleep. All were within the walls where their uncomfortable looking beds were carved out of the rock. That of course was not true for those asleep in them as the mattresses supporting them resembled an Earth waterbed but felt like a substance the Martians heard on TV called 'Memory Foam. With the mattress conforming to their bodies, the blankets they used regulated their body temperature, ensuring they were not too warm as Martians are unable to tolerate to much heat.

While her siblings had to get ready for school, and others ready for work, she, her father, and her teammates needed to meet with B'arzz at the hanger where her bioship was docked. From there, they would take the hour long journey to the dig-site where a strange artifact had been discovered.

(BREAK)

"Our destination lies several kilometers north of the hanger you three arrived at. It will take around an hour to reach the site where the artifact is located. Our job is to not only study it, but make sure no other personnel from the council or religious groups enter the site. We have word that after the governmental evacuation, several groups may be attempting to see it for themselves."

Standing in front of a holographic map of Mars, M'lder M'orzz, M'gann's father, pointed out everything they were going to be doing the following day. A list of supplies were given to the black ops Alpha team and was looked over carefully by Conner. Several items were crossed off, indicating they already had them in M'gann's ship while others needed to be taken with them.

While dinner was just about ready, M'ulder had decided to bring his daughter and her friends into his study to explain the nature of their mission. Shelves lined three of the walls, filled with books, artifacts, awards, and several family portraits. There was even one shelf dedicated to the pictures his sons and daughters drew for him, including a crude picture of him and M'gann hugging with what looked to be tentacle arms. His desk, large and made of some type of reddish wood, was cluttered to the max with paperwork, electronics, and journals. It was such a mess, his computer was nowhere to be seen.

"As you can see here," a red dot appeared where the artifact was discovered, "the artifact we unearthed is near a mile below the ground. It will take some time in digging the rest of it out, but easy to transport via crate and our telepathy."

"Hold on," Conner spoke up after watching a holographic projection of the object they were to retrieve, "B'arzz said this was an emergency. So why are we digging some...artifact out of a hole?"

Looking down, M'lder let out a long breath. "To be honest, when B'arzz said he had friends who could help, I was expecting someone from the famous Justice League, J'onn, to tell you the truth."

"Sorry, dad," M'gann said softy. 'Uncle J'onn and the rest of the League are dealing with other things right now. We, we're the first ones out on missions where publicity is unwanted."

"In other words," Conner said, "we're all you've got right now."

"Yes, well-" Turning his attention to his desk, M'lder stuck his hand under a pile of papers and withdrew one of his journals. "This will tell you all you need to know about what we found. The danger here lies in what could happen."

Handing the small, brown book to his daughter, M'lder went on explaining as she flipped through the pages. "Upon discovering the artifact, B'arzz and I found something of a, a sentience to it. We tried to uncover more of it, to bring it back to the science center for testing but, something, I do not know what, but something made us stop working to remove it. That's when we knew it was alive, so to speak. It then began to glow, blue at first, then red, before settling on a pinkish color. If it changed colors again or, or is even glowing anymore, I wouldn't know. We even picked up thought waves, synapse signals with our scanners a moment before it made us leave it alone, almost as if it were not strong enough to forcefully make us stop, but just suggested we leave it alone. It's hard to describe really."

"Honey," knocking gently on the door, Mrs. M'orzz poked her head around the corner, "dinner's ready." She then looked at the two Earthlings. "I hope you two enjoy the stew M'gann helped me prepare as well as the Martian Berry dessert."

"We'll be there in a moment, dear," M'lder told her with a smile then turned back to the others. "So you see, if something that has been unearthed is discovered to have a consciousness, demonstrates the ability to defend itself, and even has Martian synapse signals, we have got to find out what it is. This is an emergency because of what it was shown it can do. It was attempting to tamper with our minds but lacked the power in doing so. And what makes it all the more mysterious, is it has no carbon date."

"Carbon date?" Garfield asked. "Isn't that what they use to see how old dinosaurs are?"

"Precisely. We took a sample of the ground around the artifact and the results came back the rock and dirt around it is several million years old, which is normal. But the artifact itself, it had no Carbon Date. It's as if just...appeared once we began to dig."

"So an egg shaped rock you dug up from dirt some millions of years old is brand new. Could the samples have been tampered with?" Conner asked.

"No. I took them there myself. And unlike Earth science, we have more advanced equipment to where the results are made to us within a few seconds."

"Dad, this says it gave off something of a psychic blast but only you felt it," M'gann said while pointing to a passage in the journal.

"And that, daughter, is what has made me lose sleep ever since discovering it."

(BREAK)

Safely out of the room where the females of her family, sans mother slept, M'gann carefully shut the door and walked into the living room where Conner slept. With their room adjacent to the boys' and sharing a wall with the main section of the house, she needn't worry about walking past the door to her brothers' room where garfield was currently sleeping.

Taking a step down to the main floor, M'gann silently made her way to the couch Conner slept on. Her father would be up any minute, meaning she would have to have her Kryptonian teammate getting ready for the trip ahead of them.

(BREAK)

Standing on the roof of her house, the only place private enough to have a conversation without wondering if anyone is hiding around a corner, M'gann leaned against the edge of the chest high wall lining the top of the building. Overlooking the neighborhood, she began to remember her time living on Mars. As a kid, she would run up and down the street with her friends, playing hide and seek with her siblings, and enjoying time in the playground a few blocks down. When at home, she would play on the roof of her house, having adventures on Earth through her dolls as she pretended the small garden plots lining one of the walls were the land of the blue and green planet she always wanted to visit. She was even surprised to see her old doll house still standing in the center of the purple plants resembling Earth's sunflowers. All that time as a happy child, never did she once encounter the prejudice of being a White Martian until she ventured outside the safe zone when learning to fly for the first time. She never wanted to relive that day or any like it again.

"M'gann?" Drawing her attention, Conner came out form the stairway leading down into her home.

Looking around the area, Conner saw how the top of the house served as a recreation space. The garden plots lined the right side of the roof, filled with Martian flowers, a dollhouse, and vegetables, primarily potatoes and what looked like carrots. It still surprised him how something meant to grow on Earth could do just as well on another planet. A few lounge chairs large enough for any Martian in their real form lined the left corner with a table nearby with other furniture meant for a more humanoid form. While there was not much to it, it did seem like they would have more than enjoyed their time up there.

"Over here, Conner." Turning away from the view, M'gann leaned back on the barrier and crossed her arms.

Noticing the look she had, lips tight, eyes far away and her not looking at him, the Kryptonian knew she was struggling with something. All these years, he knew what she may be feeling by a look alone, no matter how she tried to hide it.

"You wanted to talk privately?" Taking position at her side, Conner leaned back on the barrier and waited for her to make the first move.

With her face turned away from him, M'gann took a deep breath and let it out slowly. "I told them everything. I told them about us, about what I did, everything. The look on my father's face, the disappointment in his voice. It hurts what I did and I'm sorry for it. It's something I will always regret doing. And it looks like I'm still paying for it."

"How are you still paying for what you did? Your uncle said it was something you needed to learn on your own, about how bad it was."

"I'm losing my powers, Conner. I...I'm unable to do the simplest things, stuff I've done since I could remember. When we were chased by those two Green Martians, I should have been able to detect the one after me while he was in camouflage mode. I should have been able to push him back, to prevent him from using his telekinesis on me and...and for some reason, I couldn't do it."

Watching her wrap her arms tightly around herself, Conner saw a look take over her face he had not seen in some time, a look of pure fear.

"And after we dealt with them, I couldn't feel you. I couldn't feel you or Garfield and couldn't even raise our mind link. It was like all the power it took to do so was gone and I was relieved when we got here that I could tap into my family's link but now...now I can't feel them like I should. It's like the entire world is leaving me. Like my family and friends are leaving me. Like, like you're leaving me all over again. I...I..."

Lowering her head, M'gann buried her face in one hand and began to cry. Martians, since birth, were able to feel others around them, predominantly their family members as the love they shared made the mental link stronger then with others. She was not used to being alone in her mind. Not used to being shut off from the world and others she cared about. It was evident to Conner she was more than upset, she was terrified.

"Come here," he whispered as he moved to face her completely.

Responding to his words, M'gann moved into his open arms and felt the secureness of him holding her. It was a feeling she thought she would never feel again and quickly sank into his chest. Unwrapping herself, she gripped onto his shirt then him, making sure she was not dreaming as she held onto him tightly and continued to shed her tears.

Adjusting his arms around her, Conner moved his head to place his on top of hers as he held her reassuringly. "M'gann, listen to me. I don't know what to tell you. But I...I'm here for you. I-"

"Conner," Looking up a him, the Martian's eyes looked like a flood had just been released with trails of tears running down her cheeks. Her eyes pleaded for him to say something, anything to make her feel even remotely better as her bottom lip quivered. "I...I don't know what's happening to me."

Swallowing the lump that had formed in his throat, the powerhouse, the brooding member of the team dove right in and kissed her deeply. It was just like old times. When words failed him, before she could listen to the thoughts he sent her, he would put his feelings into that one gesture and she would understand. It was more than simply kissing her. It was him telling her not to be afraid and how he would always be there for her. Because when one was not able to continue the fight, the other would always come to their side. They were always stronger together.

Letting herself go, M'gann gave a small yipe as she sank further into the kiss with him. She had always found it strange how he could make her feel better by doing that but welcomed it, welcomed him. She returned the kiss with the same feelings she felt coming from him, wanting to feel like nothing could ever come between them. It was just like old times.

Breaking contact, Conner wrapped his arms a little tighter around her and moved his face to the side of her head where his lips were close to her ear. "I don't know what might happen, but I do know it will work out on the end. You taught me that. We'll figure this out. And if you do lose your powers, I'll be there for you. Same as I will be when you get them back."

"'When'?" M'gann asked looking up at him. "And you'll be there for me? Like before?"

"You weren't the only one who made a mistake." He gently swept the hair on the side of her head behind her ear. "We got it all out that night in your uncle's apartment. I'm not leaving you again. Never again."

"Conner." She pulled him down and deeply kissed him again.

Around them, the lights dimmed, signaling it was now getting dark on the surface of the planet. The change in lighting went unnoticed by the reunited couple as they continued showing their feelings through their embrace, not needing words, vocal or mental, to tell each other how they felt. Just like old times.

(BREAK)

Standing over the sleeping Kryptonian, M'gann gently nudged him as she sat on the arm rest. Turning over, Conner stretched while letting out a long, deep yawn. "Hey," he said with a grin then ran a hand through his hair.

"Hey." Grinning herself, M'gann Watched as he sat up and reached for his shirt. "Comfy out here?"

"More comfortable than your uncle's couch, yeah." Looking her over, he saw a touch of sadness still in her eyes. "Still having trouble with your powers?"

"Yeah. I can't feel my family as strongly anymore. Feels like my world's collapsing on itself. And it's getting harder to feel you too. It's strange. After a while, I have just enough of my telepathy to barely feel anyone. It just comes and goes.

Reaching over to her, Conner took her hand in his. "We'll figure it out. What about your flight? Or shape shifting?"

"I tried them both last night. I don't seem to have a problem with them. Holding my human form still feels the same and I don't have a problem hovering. It looks to only be my telepathy."

"You sure you want to still do the mission then? You could always stay here and-"

"No." Letting out a long breath, M'gann hovered into the air then sat beside him. "I might not be able to create a psychic link between us, but we have com units. And I can still fight. It may not be on my usual terms, but I can handle myself."

"Just stay close if you need to. With your father and B'arzz there with us, we shouldn't have to worry too much if something happens."

Looking down and rubbing her thumb over his knuckles, M'gann turned her head slightly too look at him from the corner of her eye. "Do you ever get scared?"

"Scared?"

"Yeah. Is there a time you have ever gotten scared?"

Shaking his head, Conner kept his voice low. "No. I guess being indestructible has that effect on you. I just know that, if I get shot, or if I get stabbed, the bullet will just bounce off me or the blade will break. I never get scared for myself because I always know no matter what gets thrown at me, I can take it and keep going. I never get scared for me. But seeing others, Nightwing, Artemis, Kaldur, Garfield...you, I get terrified when I don't know if you're safe."

He then brought her hand into his lap and held it tightly. "But then I remember, you're strong. You've always been strong. You'll get through this, and you'll be even stronger for it."

Removing her hand from his, M'gann moved closer to wrap her arms around him with him doing the same. Both sat on the couch hugging each other for as long as she wanted and needed.

(BREAK)

Striking out after a hearty breakfast, made by Mrs. M'orzz and one of her daughters who had taken a liking to the Earthling shape shifter, M'gann, Conner, and Garfield made sure the bioship was loaded up with everything they may need. Getting back to the hanger was much more easier due to M'lder M'orzz and B'arzz O'oomm being with the three black ops members. No one dared to try and make trouble for the White Martian with them and it was not long before the group left the hanger for the dig-site.

Letting her father pilot her ship, M'gann took a front row seat as he took them to where the artifact was discovered. Beside her was Garfield with a wrist mounted computer. He was still learning how to properly use the holographic machine and was currently trying to have it display a GPS map. All he could get on the device was a satellite image of Mars with no indication as to where they were at. Scratching his head, the teen went back to reading the instructions Kaldur had given him to practice with.

Sitting on her other side, Conner was adjusting the frequencies of the ear mounted communicators. Given the increased amount of certain metals in the Martian soil, he was making sure all possible static was eliminated before passing them out to Garfield and M'gann, just in case something should happen to B'arzz or M'lder.

"How much longer until we're there, dad?" M'gann asked as she turned her chair around to face him.

"We are close, M'gann. Just another five minutes and we'll be there, so now would be a perfect time to get ready for our job." Guiding the Bioship around a crimson colored mountain, M'lder brought the vessel closer to the ground. He was always one for keeping the Martian Bioships close to the surface of the planet. His reason for it, no one knew.

"I think that will do." Holding up an earpiece, Conner gave it one last look over before handing it to his partner. "All static should be gone."

Taking the small device, M'gann fit it on her ear. "So how does this work exactly?"

"When you want to speak to Garfield or me, press one finger to the communicator and talk. Hold the button down for three seconds and it will pick up everything you say without having to press it. The range is about five miles so watch how far you are from either of us."

"Got it."

"And I will establish a mental link in the meantime," M'gann's father said. "Should your electronics fail or if we need to be quiet, we will have the added security of our minds being connected."

"Good idea," M'gann told him.

"Closing in on the site." Tucking a hand held scanner into his satchel, B'arzz looped the strap over his shoulders. "I have not picked up on any other ships in the area, M'lder. For the time being, we are the only ones out here."

"Then let us hope our luck holds out," M'lder told him. "If we hurry, we may be able to run our tests and possibly extract the artifact before we are discovered."

"Why are we doing this again?" Garfield asked as he switched off his holocomputer.

"The artifact has a synapse reading matching a Martian. It has a conscience and tried to enter my, as well as B'arzz's minds. We have various groups who want it as a symbol of our religious beliefs, a potential power source, the possible discovery of Martian creation, and a potential weapon. There's just so much of a mystery surrounding this discovery, it could very well be the start of conflict for us all if left unchecked. We just need to run a few tests before anyone from the government or other sects can get here. There has got to be a reason as to why its here and what it is."

Reaching the final stretch of their journey, M'lder piloted the ship to land near the edge of the square shaped dig-site. Touching down, the Bioship obediently opened its rear hatch to let those inside exit where they were greeted with a view of the red Martian landscape and the far off appearance of Earth, which looked like a bright blue star from where they were.

Dust blew into the air as they stepped foot on the rocky terrain. B'arzz once again grabbed is scanner while M'lder inspected his instruments within his bag. Garfield had his holocomputer create a map of the entire site while Conner slipped on a backpack and grabbed a few Earth tools should he need them.

"The artifact is not far from here, down at the other side of the quarry really," M'lder pointed out. "Just a minute or two of flight time."

"Even though we have the necessary equipment to detect incoming Bioships, I still think we need to be vigilant should any unforeseen event arises. We do not need to be taken by surprise once down there." Rising up inti the air, B'arzz nodded in M'lder's direction. "Meet you down there."

"Be careful my friend."

As the first Green martian, in his true form, took off flying down the side of the dig-site, M'lder turned to the other three. "Remember, stay in teams of two. Conner, and Garfield, I need you two to dig once our testing is finished. M'gann, stay by my side incase the artifact should attempt to tamper with our minds again. B'arzz will signal us if it is clear, so be ready to go."

Making their way to the edge overlooking the quarry, the four patiently waited for their friend to give the okay for them to join him. Garfield busied himself with kicking a few rocks over the edge. If it were not for the mission at hand, he would have enjoyed spending more time at his blood sister's home and exploring the underground Martian cities. From what he has seen, Mars was an exciting place to explore with so many things to see. The pictures M'gann's brothers and sisters had shown him only made the shape shifter want to see more of the planet for himself. Time with the team as had him see parts of the world he never thought he would see, encounter things he could only imagine, and give him a sense of self-worth many teenagers his age struggle to find for themselves.

While Garfield waited, Conner and M'gann stood close to each other with the Martian pointing things out to the Kryptonian. A long mountain range to the west of their location was known as Scaleback Ridge. To the east lay a crater known as The Dimple of Mars, a place able to be seen from space that did indeed resemble a dimple on a persons face. Then there was the plateau known as Heart Link Point. It was where her parents were married decades ago.

Watching his daughter as she showed the young man around, M'lder allowed himself a smile. It had been a long time since he last spent time with M'gann and it did him good to see her with someone who cared for her, despite what she admitted she had done to him. He only hoped the two would work things out as it was the hope every father had for his children was for them to find someone to make them happy.

"M'lder," B'arzz said over the mind link, "I do not see any evidence anyone else was down here and I do not believe the Artifact was disturbed. I'm making my way to it but you and the others can come down here."

"On our way." Looking at the three heroes, M'lder saw they were getting ready to make their way down as he flew into the air and went to join the other Martian male.

"See ya down there." Morphing into a hawk, Garfield followed M'lder into the quarry.

"Want me to fly you down there?" M'gann asked as she and Conner went to the edge of the site.

"I can jump." Shifting his pack, Conner was just about ready to leap into the deep chasm when M'gann stopped him.

"Conner, Martians may have terraformed the surface to make it livable, but we do still have less gravity. Jump too high and you'll likely float into the atmosphere. Any harder, and you'll most likely enter space."

Rolling his eyes, the dark haired black ops member abandoned his jump. He had not thought of the possibility of using too much power in a lower gravity environment. "Fine. But can you handle it?"

"Yeah. I can still levitate without a problem. At least I hope I don't have a problem doing this."

"If you do," Conner said as M'gann lifted him into the air with her. "I'll catch you if we fall."

Grinning with a blush, M'gann looked over to him while they flew to the bottom of the dig-site. "I know you will, just like I'll be there to help you fly."

Within the dig-site, down one of several tunnels leading from the cavern where the artifact was located, a long trail of translucent purple gelatinous slime lead to a crawling mass. The artifact, what was left of it, lay against the rocky wall. It's perfectly smooth outer casing was sliced open, letting more of the slime out. Little by little, the artifact was dissolving, breaking down into nothing more than a slick film as it fell to the ground.

Several feet away, where the crawling form was, a muffled groan floated from it. With more of the slimy substance covering and falling off of it, the being slowly made its way over to the nearest cavern wall and leaned against it. Emerging like it did took an abundance of energy, making it tired from exerting itself like it did. Its bodily shape had not fully formed but was slowly increasing in size and strength. Slick white skin was flexed around long limbs with its chest rising and lowering with each strained breath. It would take time for the being to fully recover from its earlier activities. Around it, the skeletal remains of the Martians from earlier lay on the ground. Each were in a position of agony with their mouths open wide in silent screams.

Gasping for breath, the being stiffened a moment before relaxing, its body resembling a true White Martian form the more it shed the slimy substance. With one final moan, the being felt a jolt run through its body then weakly looked itself over. Its arms, long, tipped with two fingers and a third on its forearm. Long legs, strong and boney, felt ready to pick the being up off the ground and take it wherever it needed to go. Its torso, large with a red 'X' crossing over it, looked extremely powerful despite how it felt at the moment. A large hump on its back fed up into the neck and head pulsated as its brain absorbed as much oxygen as it could with its face, angular with exposed teeth, shed what little of the slime it had left.

Opening its eyes, red like the very planet it was on, the being, a White Martian, looked its surroundings over before narrowing them and having them take on a more human appearance. For the briefest of moments, it had a shade of light brown color its irises before having the entire eye itself go back to its true red coloring.


	4. Chapter 4

**AN: Thanks for the reviews on how you all like it so far, now, as they say, business is about to pick up. (Short chap, really gets things going.)**

**Ben A - No, they don't need suits since Mars was terraformed by the Martians and has a habitable atmosphere, just with lower gravity than Earth.**

4.

Arriving at the bottom of the quarry, M'lder instantly took stock of everything left behind by the workers during the order to leave. Machinery, tools, even food was scattered about from the Martian scientists and diggers, a sign they were not given any time to gather the less important items they carried. Papers were scattered around with crossed out notes, scribbles, and crude drawings of the things they found, all were from an overturned dumpster sitting near portable waste houses known on Earth as 'porta-johns'.

"No one seems to have been here," M'lder said to himself when Garfield glided in behind him and morphed back to his monkey/human hybrid self.

"Jeez, looks like a ghost town." Looking around, the youngest team member was reminded of the empty, lifeless towns he saw in Quarc after Queen Bee's forces ransacked it.

"So where's the artifact?" Coming in with Conner beside her, M'gann landed next to her father and wrapped her cloak around herself.

"It's within the cave directly ahead. B'arzz must already be inside." Turning to the group, M'lder saw they were waiting for orders while keeping watch for anything resembling a threat. "M'gann and I will meet up with B'arzz. Conner, Garfield, if you could, keep guard at the entrance until we call you. Remember, no one should know we are here. So if you see a ship or other Martians, let us know and keep out of sight. I do not want to risk causing any more trouble than I am just by being here."

"Alright," Conner said as he slipped his backpack off and looked at M'gann. "Careful."

"You too." Giving him a quick, yet sad, smile, M'gann and her father made their way into the cave where the artifact was located. Even with her powers disappearing, she was determined to complete her mission no matter her situation.

After the two Martians disappeared around the corner of the cave entrance, the other two team members began to set up their gear. "Here, Gar. Take the radar relay and set it up on top of the cave entrance. Your holocomputer should be linked up to it after it's set up."

"Okay. What about these?" Holding up a few, slim, pen-sized devices from a metal carrying case, Garfield saw Conner become extremely cautious as he reached out for them.

"Uh, not those. Those are explosive charges." Taking them and the case in hand, the Kryptonian carefully put them back in their housings next to the detonator, then clamped the box closed. "Next time, look on the top of the cases before opening them." He flipped the box around, showing the teen the 'EXPLOSIVES' label on the other side.

"N...noted." As he watched Conner gently place the box of explosives down, Garfield wiped his brow of the sudden sweat buildup he had.

(BREAK)

Inside the cave, M'lder and M'gann were following the wall mounted markers to get to the artifact, not that the elder needed the markings to get to it as he knew where it was from experience.

"So, dad," M'gann said as they continued walking, "how long have you known about this artifact down here? Your notes don't have a date as to when you began looking for it specifically but it looks to have been over several months."

"True. I first became...I guess 'aware' would be a good word for it, around a year ago. It was the strangest thing."

"A year?"

"Yes. I remember being asleep and had the most vivid dream. I was walking through our neighborhood, watching friends and neighbors tending to their gardens, playing in their yards, coming back from the market, and the like. It was not until I reached the end of the White Martian safe zone when I saw you. You were standing in the middle of the street in the most beautiful blue and white dress. I was so happy to see you that I flew as fast as I could when you held up a hand to stop me. Before I knew it, everything changed."

Guiding his daughter around a shallow bend, M'lder continued with his dream.

"At first, I did not see what was happening. That is until your skin paled to become as white as your true form. The caverns, homes, everything behind you began to burn. I could hear screams, screams of death as Martians everywhere were burning alive. Most were trapped in their homes while some were in the streets trying to save themselves and their loved ones, but no one survived. When I looked behind me, I saw our house burning as well. Your mother lay on the ground with three of your sisters and two of your brothers, and while they were not burned, they were as still as statues with their faces contorted in pain. And then you said something to me."

"What?" M'gann asked. She had come to a stop as her father described what he dreamt with him standing just a few feet shy in front of her.

"You told me, 'Look for the marker. An artifact of salvation.' You then turned into the artifact, the artifact I discovered down here."

Walking up to his daughter, M'lder placed a hand on her shoulder. "M'gann, after I awoke, I saw your mother over me, trying to wake me and explaining how she couldn't reach me telepathically. I had thought it only a dream, but several more after it, all with the same egg-shaped artifact and you telling me to find it, I began to connect bits and pieces together from each one."

Taking a few steps back, M'lder held his arms out. "It has all led me here. I gathered an expedition team to aid me and we found something alive below the ground. When we uncovered it, it seemed to have appeared out of nowhere. You know the rest, but I still cannot describe what it is or why I was led to it. It is that consciousness it has that has me beyond worried. It may have only been a dream, but it still feels all to real to me."

Not knowing what to say, M'gann just stood there in the middle of the cave. Hearing what her father said happened when she came back disturbed her so much so, that she didn't know why he would have a dream of her doing such terrible things. None of it was like her, none of it was her, all of it was simply a nightmare. But then there was the marker, the artifact that appeared to him and somehow led him to finding it.

"M'gann," Gently lifting his daughter's head to look him in the eyes, M'lder gave her a reassuring smile. "I know it was only a dream with strange coincidences. But I do believe; however, that it was a warning. Perhaps I was meant to find it for the betterment of our people. Perhaps I was meant to find it to get rid of it. But the way I see it, it was you who informed me of its existence like you were telling me of danger to come. That is why I need to get to it before anyone else does and find out what it is exactly."

"That, that still doesn't make me feel better about what I did in your dream," she told him.

"But you didn't do anything. I see it as, I see you standing here before me, having grown so much, having become so much more stronger than I could have hoped for. Maybe it meant you were to come back and help me, showing me the consequences should I not act."

Taking a step back to continue heading to the artifact, M'lder sifted the tools he carried to his other hand. "No matter what happens down here, M'gann. No matter what you have done, I am proud to call you my daughter. And I will be proud of the woman you will become."

(BREAK)

It did not take long for Garfield and Conner to set things up outside the entrance to the cave. Sensors scanned the sky in a twenty mile diameter, giving them just enough time to retreat back into the cave and warn the others if need be. Digging tools were set up within reach beside the entrance along side the pack Conner carried. For the time being, the two just took it easy while making sure they were the only ones within the area.

"Hey, Conner, you think sis will get her power back?" Winding up, Garfield threw a small stone as far as he could and was surprised to see it travel much farther than he thought he was capable of throwing. "Whoa, low gravity rocks."

Watching the teen entertain himself, the team's powerhouse sat the sensor readout device down beside him and leaned forward on the rock he sat on. "Don't know. She says no Martian has had this happen to them, aside from the higher-ups taking away one Martian's mental abilities years ago."

Tossing another stone and catching it a few times, Garfield turned back to look his friend and team veteran. "She's scared, you know."

"Can you blame her? Losing something she's had since birth, waking up one day and finding she can't do the simplest things like she used to."

"Do you know what might happen if she loses all her powers? You think she'll still live on Earth? Or the Watchtower?"

Shaking his head softly, Conner let out a long breath. "I don't know."

"I don't want her to. Live in Watchtower, I mean."

"Why?" Conner asked, looking up. "I thought you would want her around."

"Well, I do. But, if she can't change back to her Megan form and blend in with people like she usually does, I wouldn't want her to have to stay hiding from everyone. She loves being able to meet new people, to go to the beach, window shopping, you know, cause of the morphing suit she wears. As much as I would want her close, I wouldn't want her to be alone from everyone. She doesn't deserve that, you know?"

Nodding, Conner leaned back and to his left where the wall from the cave extended. "Yeah. I guess it would be better if she stayed here. She just loves Earth so much though. I won't force her to not go back. I can't knowing how it would make her feel."

"Have you two thought of getting back together?"

"What?"

Dropping the stone he had, Garfield joined Conner on the large rock he was on. "If you two got back together, and if she couldn't change back, would you stay with her? Because I think, I know I would. She saved my life. She's my sister. I can't leave her alone."

Watching Conner stare at the ground, Garfield shifted in his seat and scratched behind an ear. "So, if you two were together, or are getting back together, would you stay with her?"

Closing his eyes, Conner inhaled then let it out slowly. Everything he went through since leaving Cadmus flashed trough his head. Through his short life, there was only one bright spot he could see constantly. It may have wavered, it may not have been the easiest thing, but it was constant, and she was always in the center of it.

It didn't take even a moment for him to give his answer. "Yes."

Ending the two's conversation, a nudge came to their minds as M'lder established a mental link with them._ "Superboy, Beast Boy, the artifact is ready to be moved but I need some assistance. Please send in Beast Boy, I have a job for him_."

"_On my way. Any tools I should bring?_" Garfield answered.

"_If you have explosives, they would be most useful."_

"Must have forgot we had them." Taking out the small container from his pack, Conner gave the explosives to the green boy. "They're ready to go, just don't drop them. After he has them placed, the detonator can be used to set them off individually or all together. He just has to activate the ones he wants."

"Instructions in the box?" Garfield asked.

"Yeah. They're on the inside lid."

"Noted." Carefully, Garfield carried the requested explosives into the cave, making sure not to have them jostle around.

A few minutes had passed with Garfield heading to the location of the artifact. There were no signs being picked up of anyone or anything in the vicinity of the quarry, leading Conner to wonder if this mission was as much of an emergency as they were told. Reaching into a side pocket of his pack, he pulled out an unopened Kit-Kat and went on to partake in a snack.

"Conner."

Biting off half of a chocolate covered wafer, the Kryptonian heard his name being called in a sing-song voice by M'gann.

"Conner."

Turning in his place, Conner was surprised to see her outside instead of inside the cave. "M'gann? Do you and M'lder need any help?"

Walking up to him in an almost cheerful manor with a skip in her step, her hands clasped behind her back, and a smile on her face, the Martian woman came to a stop in front of him as he stood to meet her.

"You seem awfully happy." He could not help but grin at the look on her face.

"I should be. Look." Holding out her hand, M'gann used her powers and had a small portion of dirt from the ground rise up to swirl around her palm. After having it make several designs, the dirt compacted in on itself and formed a heart. "See? I got my powers back."

Smiling, Conner watched as the small heart slowly spun on her palm for a few moments before returning to the Martian surface. "How?"

"The artifact. I, I touched it and felt this jolt and, and I could read minds again. I can link us up like I always have."

"Do the others know?"

Placing a hand on his cheek, she came closer. "Not yet. I wanted to show you first and asked my father for some alone time with you." Leaning in, M'gann closed the gap and placed a soft kiss on his lips. "It's been so long. I've missed this. Missed you."

Placing his hands on her hips, Conner leaned his forehead on hers. "I've missed this too."

Leaning down, He met her lips and the two engaged in a deep kiss like they shared constantly in the past. "_Told you it will work out."_

With her arms reaching around his head to keep him close, M'gann smiled as they continued their embrace and spoke through their link. "_I know. But I don't think this is what you imagined."_

Instantly, Conner felt his mind being attacked with a mind blast. Still in the embrace he shared with M'gann, he could do nothing as she continued to kiss him and attack him at the same time. Wanting to pull away to fight the onslaught, he found he was unable to do anything except give into the darkness wanting to take him. The moment the Martian woman broke the kiss, he fell to his knees and looked up at her with a questioning gaze before falling face first in the dirt and passing out.

Wiping her devilish grin, M'gann sucked the gathered spittle from her thumb and continued to smile evilly. Kneeling beside the knocked out Kryptonian, she used her telekinesis to gently turn him over and raise him off the ground slightly.

"Poor baby," she said while caressing the side of his face gently with the back of her fingers. "I really do miss you. You always made me feel accepted. Complete. Loved. But that was then."

Standing at her full height, M'gann began to have her black and red uniform change to something completely different. Blue boots covered her feet up to mid shin. Her leg coverings shrunk to a tight, blue skirt reminiscent of the flowing one she wore when the black ops team was just starting out with a red belt. Her top changed from black and red to a pure white corset, leaving her shoulders completely uncovered with white gloves stretching up to just under her elbow as her blue cape grew longer to the top of her ankles.

Her skin changed as well, fading from the green she normally chose for it, to her natural bone-white Martian skin tone. Her hair, a pixie cut, receded from her hairline to an auburn colored ponytail extending from the top back of her head, leaving the rest of her scalp bald. Finally, her amber colored eyes lost their brilliance and turned completely red, making it impossible to tell what she was looking at.

Raising Conner up to shoulder level, the white skinned M'gann gave him one last kiss on the forehead before turning and heading back into the cave. "And this is now."

Once past the entrance, M'gann waived her hand, causing the cave opening to shudder then collapse.


	5. Chapter 5

5.

Deep inside the cave where the artifact was located, Garfield was still in search of his sister and her father. It was hard to figure out where he was as every corridor looked the same, it did not help everything was red and there were no markings in English for him to understand. Choosing another tunnel, the green teen grabbed another rock from the ground and scratched an 'X' with an arrow in the direction he was going on the wall to keep track of where he has come from and searched.

"Sis?" Tossing the rock down, the boy hoped he was on the right track, especially since he had not been given an idea as to where to meet the others.

Holding the container with the explosive charges, the youth made sure they would not jostle in the least for the fear of being blown up along with them. The longer he went about carrying them, the more nervous he got as his imagination had its way with him. Images of the size of the explosion filled his mind from a simple explosion the size of Nightwing's Bird-A-Rangs, to the footage of the Atomic Bomb being dropped in New Mexico he once saw on a documentary.

"Mister M'orzz?" he called. "I got the bomb things you wanted. You down here?"

Hearing only his echo, Garfield let out a huff while rolling his eyes before backtracking to choose another tunnel. It felt as if he were on a wild goose chase.

Elsewhere in the caverns, M'lder and M'gann were arriving where the artifact was. Surprised, the elder Martian looked as if he were just the victim of a crime as he stared at the empty space the egg shaped object was found. With nothing but a semi-circular hole where it once lay, M'lder was at a complete loss as to its whereabouts.

"What, what happened?" M'lder asked. "Where is it?" Jogging forward, he stopped just shy of the last spot he saw it at and looked around in a desperate attempt to find any clue as to what could have happened to it.

"Dad?" M'gann cautiously asked, "what's wrong?"

"It was right here," M'lder said as he motioned to the empty space.

Taking a look herself, M'gann saw how worried her father had become. There was no explanation as to why the artifact was not there unless someone simply removed it. But if that were the case, there would be tracks, tool marks, something showing someone was there.

"This is terrible," M'lder continued. "Someone had to have ben here before us, most likely during the night. But with no tracks or evidence of any sort, how did they remove it?"

"Dad." Pointing to a nearby corridor, M'gann had her father join her side and look questioningly at something on the Martian soil. "What is this?"

"I do not know. I have never seen anything like it outside of..." Taking out a scanner, M'lder removed a small metal wand from the top of the machine and placed it in what his daughter had found.

Sticking the device in the substance M'gann found, M'lder waited for the testing to be complete. It was a glob-like mass, drying on the red dirt and was almost completely gone. Residue of it had completely lost all of its moisture and had turned into flakes, mixing with the soil as time went by. A few seconds of waiting had the readings of what it was appear on the scanner's screen with surprising results.

"Impossible."

"What?" Looking at her father, M'gann watched him as he slowly stood. "What is it?"

"It's, it's coming back as a placenta. As if something gave birth here recently. But that's..."

Looking at the substance, M'lder repacked the scanner and searched the ground for any more of the placenta-like glob. A few meters away, he found another mass of the same substance with a light trail of dry flakes leading towards another and another. The more he searched, the more of the substance he found and it was evident whatever left it behind had headed towards a nearby tunnel before it stopped and looked to have backtracked.

"Do you think it went in there?" M'gann asked.

"I do not know. But I am starting to fear the artifact was not simply an object with a consciousness. It may have been something else entirely.

(Break)

Coming to yet another choice between two tunnels, Garfield let out a huff as he placed his hands on his hips. Scratching his head, he could not help but feel he was completely lost.

"Maybe I should go back and retrace my steps." Looking at the markings the other Martians left behind as a directory, he picked one of the first symbols making up their writing and decided to follow that. "Wish I could track people better. Be a lot easier if I could smell them as a dog and actually knew what I was doing."

Going back where he had come from, the young team member saw a shadow approaching from the tunnel he traveled down. Coming around the corner, B'arzz spotted him and waived him over.

"Where were you?" B'arzz asked. "The others have been waiting for the charges."

"I got lost," Garfield answered. "No one told me where to go so I just picked a tunnel, then another, then another, and sorta got lost."

"Well then, it's a good thing I found you. We thought you may have been injured in a cave in or rock slide. We felt one happen earlier and were worried if you may have gotten caught in it."

"Nope, nothing like that has happened." Entering another tunnel, Garfield noticed it was one he had not marked. "Jeez, I was way off. I should have gone right and not left."

As the two continued onward, Garfield noticed fewer and fewer markings on the walls. previously, there had been five, each carefully written for those who followed. Now there were only two until they turned another corner and there were none at all.

"Are you sure we're going the right way? Shouldn't we be following the markers on the walls?"

"You always were a smart on," B'arzz said as he began to take longer strides to separate himself from the young Earthling.

"Huh?" Garfield asked before running to catch up. "Hey, wait a second!"

Seeing B'arzz disappear around a corner, Garfield had to resort to a near sprint as the Martian lifted off the ground and flew swiftly down the tunnels. It only took several seconds for the young team member to reach the spot he last saw B'arzz, but it was several seconds longer than he liked.

"Hey, B, B'arzz. Slow down and, (gasp), Conner?!"

Rushing halfway down the tunnel, Garfield slid to a stop beside the unconscious Kyrpto-human. Leaning against the wall of the tunnel, Conner was slumped to the side and appeared to not be breathing.

"Conner? Hey, Conner."

Shaking him, the teen saw no change in his movement then checked for a pulse. His prayers were answered as he found a strong sign of life in his friend and continued his attempt to wake him, not noticing the container of explosives levitate away from his side.

"Oh Garfield," came M'gann's voice. "You never got over the fear of losing those around you."

"M'gann?" Looking behind him, Garfield saw nothing. "M'gann?"

"Once maybe." Appearing before him, the white skinned, humanoid Martian responsible for taking out Conner grinned evilly while holding the container in her hands. She was so close to him, he could see his reflection in her eyes.

"Who, who-"

Narrowing her eyes, the Martian assaulted Garfield's mind, rendering him unconscious as he gave a small shriek form the pain. Falling forward, he fell into her arms.

"Almost forgot how it felt to hug you, Garfield," she said while stroking his head. "Almost miss that big sister prerogative. Almost."

Laying him against the wall next to Conner, the Martian gently moved the bangs from his face before standing back up.

"I love you both, really. But I learned I didn't need you two to become what I was destined to be. And neither does she. Only when she has nothing and is alone with no one to hold her back, will she discover her true power and nature. You made me weak."

Looking the container with the explosives over, the Martian had them levitate into the air then sent them to the ground, phasing them into the rock. "No need for those. Don't need you trying anything to keep me from my goal. Or keep her from her future."

Floating into the air, the white Martian woman went into her camouflage mode and disappeared down the tunnel.

(Break)

"Found some more." Kneeling beside another glob of the drying substance, M'gann Took note on how it was not as flakey or dried as the previous ones. This one was newer but was hard to guess how old it was since they all were dissolving rather quickly.

"Then we are on the right trail," M'lder told his daughter. "Keep looking for more and maybe we will find the artifact and the one responsible for its disappearance."

For the last several minutes, M'lder and M'gann had been following the trail of residue someone or something left behind from the dig site. Splotches of the substance was first equally apart from one another but the farther they got, the closer the discoveries were. By M'gann's estimate, they were around a mile from the area the object was found in. It was strange, not just the fact there was a placenta-like substance being left behind, but whoever was responsible in taking the artifact, they were not even trying to hide their tracks or throw off any would be followers as the globs followed a straight path without turning down any of other the tunnels.

"Strange, it appears as if whoever left these behind, they slowed down and began to drag something. Just look at them. They do not appear to have fallen off something like the rest now, just one long drying streak."

"Dad." Grabbing her father's arm, M'gann pointed down the tunnel ahead of them to something lying on the ground. Both waisted no time in hurrying to the form they saw and were shocked at who they came across.

"B'arzz?!" Kneeling down beside the other Green Martian, M'lder checked for a pulse by placing his human shaped fingers on his wrist. "He's alive."

"But what happened to him?" Reaching into her father's bag he carried, M'gann pulled out the scanner and handed it to her father.

"I...I don't know." Concentrating, M'lder began to probe the unconscious Martian's mind for any information he could find when he let out an agonizing yell.

Fire engulfed M'lder's mind as he felt as if thousands of daggers were being stuck into his body. A pressure built up behind his eyes until he felt like they were literally boiling in their sockets. His skin became calloused with the fire spreading throughout his veins until it reached his heart and erupted from his chest. Molten innards flooded from his mouth, putting a stop to his scream but not his agony until he blacked out from the pain.

"DAD!" Catching him as he fell to his side, M'gann had no idea what was going on and was beyond terrified. Her father failed to respond to the shaking and light slapping she tried in an effort to wake him. "Dad, wake up!"

"Poor, M'gann. Can't stand seeing her friends and loved ones suffer."

Looking up, M'gann searched for the cause of the words but saw nothing in the tunnel where she came from. "Who's there?"

"Look closely."

Putting her self between the unseen presence and her father, M'gann squinted and saw the tiniest flicker of movement. Another Martian was in front of her in its camouflage mode, something she could see as the light was being bended around the being's body.

"Who, who are you? And why do you sound like me? Show yourself!"

Ready for a fight, regardless of having her full powers or not, M'gann had her body tense and ready to strike.

Having her eyes flash their brilliant red from its camouflage mode, the presence moved ever so slightly as it settled on the ground. Once its feet touched the red, rocky soil, the near invisible effect faded away, revealing blue boots, blue skirt, white corset, blue cape, and a body with bone white skin coloring. But it was the face that made M'gann's jaw drop for as it came into view, she saw herself staring back at her. It was like looking into a funhouse mirror if one could show a person's twisted side.

"Wha...what are-GAH!"

Flying backwards, M'gann let out a cry of pain as she was slammed into the side of the tunnel. The White humanoid Martian had her hand extended from using her telekinesis to keep her in place. She could feel a fist sized stone digging into her back as she was being pressed into the rocky surface.

"It's strange," the other Martian said as she came close to the motionless M'gann. "I can remember this exact moment now, like it was just written in my mind. Every detail, every scent, even what's going through our mind. But I can't recall what happens afterwards. Like an unfinished story from two different perspectives being written at this moment. Yours...and mine."

"Gruh, let, go of me."

Grinning smugly, the White Martian slightly chuckled. "I knew you were going to say that. Just like I knew you would be warning them if I had not nipped that thought in the bud."

Stepping around M'gann, the Martian looked her over. "Don't worry, I won't let any harm come to you. I just need to make sure certain things come to pass."

"What are you talking about? Let me go! Conner! Garfield!" Yelling so her earpiece could pick her words up, M'gann hoped the device would give her the opportunity to alert the others.

"Still holding onto hope you can warn them. I remember, I remember wanting to tell Garfield to run, to tell Conner I needed help but not wanting to put him in harm's way, given it's a Martian he would have to go up against."

"What are you talking about?" M'gann asked while trying to use her weakened mental abilities to free herself.

"Tell me, why is it you have only thought to attempt to contact them now? Why not earlier? Why not inform them you found the artifact was missing? Or when you and your father were going deeper into the tunnels? Or even when you found poor B'arzz unconscious in the tunnel? Why do you suppose you never thought to alert them then?"

With realization dawning on her, M'gann realized the Martian was right. She had not thought of telling Conner or Garfield about what was happening. She never thought to tell them about the missing artifact or the trail of slime she and her father followed. She never thought about B'arzz until she saw him.

"You, you did...what did you do?"

"Mental suggestion. An easy enough trick to have you ignore distractions, or to have you perform an action without thinking about it."

Dropping the invisible hold she had on her, the white skinned Martian let M'gann fall to her knees. And turned her back to the black ops member. " Get that thought out of our head. While we were good at physical attacks, no amount of techniques will be enough for you to deal with me."

Getting to her feet, M'gann's began to glow green. "Who are you? And what did you do to my father?"

"The same thing I did to B'arzz," the Martian said simplistically. "To Garfield. To...Conner."

Eyes widened in fear at her words, M'gann took a step back. "Wha, what did...you hurt them. You-"

Leaping at the white Martian, M'gann was set to fight as hard as she could for answers when the was grabbed by the throat and held off the ground, barely able to breathe.

"In case it hasn't dawned on you yet, I AM you," the Martian sneered. "I'm who you will become. I'm the one who will bring fire to those who hold us back, who try to keep us from becoming what we are meant to be."

Bringing her close, the White Martian, future M'gann, locked eyes with her younger self. "And I'm going to make sure you become me. Who you're supposed to be."

Her eyes then turned a bright, shimmering green as she took M'gann into her psychic realm.


	6. Chapter 6

**Ben A - No, I haven't seen Reboot. I remember it from the 90's but never saw it.**

**gordhanx - Thanks**

**Black' Victor Chachat - And the story will keep going. At least for a few more weeks.**

6.

It was a nightmare. The psychic world can be that way, or, it can be a paradise with the limit being one's imagination. M'gann had seen plenty in her time. Her parents would create fantastic environments to train her and her siblings in the use of their mental abilities. Her sisters would have adventures on far off planets, imagining handsome martians they would meet and pretent to get married or, they would wage a playful war with her brothers using their favorite Earth toy as a child, water balloons. This was the exact opposite.

The first time she was forced into a psychic battle was when she was in her twenties, barely over eight in Earth years. A Green Martian boy had surprised her in the playground after school. Mistaking him for someone who wanted to be her friend, she was caught off guard as he used his telekinesis to push her out of the tunnels the kids were known to play hide and seek in. Crashing into the soft sand, she was immediately brought into his psychic plane, one filled with monsters of every size to attack her with him standing in front of her, mocking the frightened girl.

It was here, during her first psychic battle, where she learned how to set up her defenses when he tried to see her secrets. She then learned how to attack and ignore the boy's words as they were the equivalent of an Earth bully calling a child 'stupid' or 'idiot'. She fought back as hard as she could but he was better at using his powers until she unleashed a powerful attack, she had managed to knock him out for a few hours. No Martian child was ever known to be that powerful, something she learned after running home and telling her mother what had happened. From there, she had several forced battles with the same outcome. The confidence she had in her own abilities saw her trough until meeting Psymon on Earth.

Psymon was completely different from anyone she had faced. He was able to make her forget months of her memories with just a thought. Only through severe concentration was she able to remember. The following battle was different for her as well as he was able to see her deepest secrets and use them against her, fear of being abandoned, losing her friends, becoming unloved. It was a true nightmare come to life and she was unable to get out of it until she was reminded of who she was and regained her confidence to not only beat back the psychic villain, but to make sure she was always ready to defend herself with the knowledge of her loved ones driving her that much further to win.

After witnessing a bright light, M'gann found herself tumbling through the air with a yellowish orange sky flying past her. Red, rocky land filled with familiar buildings lay some distance below her and grew larger until she stopped herself from falling and hovered. Looking around, she saw she was alone but knew that was not the case. The White Martian, the one claiming was her future self was around her somewhere, and she already felt as if she had lost the fight without it even starting. This was the White Martian's battlefield. She had the home field advantage. And she had all the power, something M'gann was lacking since arriving on Mars.

"Can't have you looking like that. A little change of wardrobe would be nice." The sound of fingers snapping echoed through the air as M'gann's clothing changed from her black and red mission attire to the one she once wore when she first met the team with her skin becoming the same bone white as the other Martian's. She was back to wearing her blue boots and skirt with matching cape and gloves. Her top was now white with her red 'X' crossing in front of her chest with only her hair remaining the same.

"I always liked that outfit. Cute and flirty. Something I grew out of years ago. And you will to."

Appearing behind her, the corset wearing Martian spun M'gann around then backhanded her several yards away. The black ops member crashed into a wall from her uncle's apartment, rattling the picture frames.

"Remember this?" the White Martian asked. "Remember your first day here on Earth?"

Instantly, the remaining four walls sprung up around M'gann along with a floor and ceiling. Everything was exactly like her uncle's apartment, right down to the TV showing coverage of a riot in Denver, Colorado.

"Remember what the humans do to each other? Just like here on mars, they hate anyone different than them. White skins hating black skins. Brown skins hating yellow skins. It just keeps going and going with everyone hating everyone else. Just like Green skins hated you, us. Black skins go out and cause trouble, breaking laws for no other reason than because they can. White skins abuse power, the power given to them in hopes of helping others. The green skins of Mars? They are both of these Earth skins in one. You know how we were treated, you know what they would do to us had it not have been us leaving Mars."

Watching the TV, M'gann saw people vandalizing buildings, beating others on the streets, burning down anything they could then scurrying away like roaches. The channel then changed to show images of war crimes, people suffering under the iron hand of a dictator. As the channels continued to change, she saw near every deplorable act Earthlings had done to each other. Whites killing blacks, blacks killing whites, just like in the civil war between the two Martian skin colors. Browns being thrown out of America, just like the White Martians were thrown out of the larger Martian cities and districts. It was the same on Earth as it was on Mars.

"Why are you showing me this?" M'gann asked while looking around the room for the other Martian.

"You know why." Phasing in through the door, the White Martian flashed her red eyes. "This, this is what we left Mars for? This is what we decided to fight for? For others to continue doing this, this hatred?"

"No," M'gann said, shaking her head. "This is not-"

"It is. Just as we suffered on Mars for years with no one to help us, the Earthlings suffer with no one to defend them. Then when someone does, they do this."

Switching the channel, the White Martian had an image of the people of Earth burning stuffed representations of the Justice League heroes. A statue of Superman was being brought down in Metropolis, the Batsignal was being destroyed along with an abandoned Batmobile. Posters of Wonder Woman were being torn in half. Every superhero who chose to help, to defend the civilians of Earth were being attacked by those same people.

"They hate peace. They would rather wallow in their own hatred instead of casting aside their differences and living in harmony."

"That, that's not real," M'gann told her. "None of this is real. It's all-"

"Oh...it's very real."

Extending a hand, the White Martian obliterated the apartment around them. The ground, once so far away, was now just under their feet with a large dome forming over them. The red rock making up the walls and ceiling turned brown with a large, white circle forming under them. Zeta Tubes appeared on the far side of the room and several forms were created out of the dirt. It was an exact replica of the underground base within Mount Justice.

"Remember this? It's your first day as part of that pathetic little team you were so proud to be apart of." Grabbing M'gann roughly by the neck, the White Martian threw her forward to where she was lying in front of the representations of the ones who would become her first friends on Earth. She then made sure M'gann could not stand as she psychically held her down on all fours.

"Remember what you asked Uncle J'onn?"

Reenacting the moment before the younger version of herself and Martian Manhunter entered the base, the model of M'gann turned to the elder martian model. "Do, do I have to tell...show them my real form?"

"No, M'gann," the clay version of Martian Manhunter said with a hand on her shoulder. "Here on Earth, you can chose to be who you wish on the outside if you wish, just as long as you remain true to what is on the inside."

"How comforting to know you can always be someone else if the first impression failed to work out." Moving to the teen replicas making up the team, the White Martian first started with Robin.

"The young one, you could have easily discovered his identity. Something I should have done the first moment I laid eyes on him." She then had him shift into Nightwing. "He may have been a close friend but he went on to betray us. He made us think a friend was dead for months and never once thought to have told us of this plan of his. He betrayed our trust and died pleading on his knees."

With a wave of her hand, the future M'gann had Nightwing land on his knees and come to life. He put his hands up, shaking his head before falling backwards. Crawling now, he looked to have attempted to stand before his head jerked back with his hands grasping its sides. With an agonized look on his face, the clay Nightwing fell face first in the dirt and dissolved away.

"No," M'gann said, shaking her head.

The future M'gann then moved to Aqualad. "The Atlantean, leader, teacher, brother. He too betrayed us. He made us think he was a murderer, a traitor. His life ended the same way he had us believe our Earth sister died, impelled with his own weapon."

Coming to life, clay Aqualad engaged in a fight, looking as if he were shadowboxing. His first water bearer was flung from his hand with the second being shattered. He then grew stiff as the first of his weapons pierced his back and exited his chest. He then fell to his knees, looking up one final time before hitting the ground and shattering.

Kid Flash was next. "Wally. The least said the better. At least we didn't have to worry about him now, did we? He just had to 'reach' out too, too far." She then had him fade away. "Too soon?"

'S, stop," M'gann said.

"Ah, Artemis. Or was it Tigress?" Future M'gann asked. "We loved her like a sister and yet she left us. So easy to manipulate. All it took was the false hope of her lost love being brought back to catch her off guard and then..."

Another clay figure appeared, this time it was M'gann before shapeshifting into Wally. The moment Artemis ran up to embrace him, she came to a stop as the Wally figure phased his hand into her head. The pain filled face on the clay Artemis showed, for only an instant, she had suffered greatly. They too joined the dirt like the others.

"Rocket, Zatanna," sliding her arms around the two League member's shoulders, "they were so easy. You had both walk into a suicide mission, posing as Batman. Regrettably, I never saw what they went through. Although," she then snapped her fingers and had them both dissolve, "their ashes did fill a shoebox."

"You, why-"

"Quiet!" Future M'gann shouted. "You have to pay very close attention to this next part." An evil grin showed jagged teeth as her eyes flashed their brilliant red coloring again. "This is where all the real fun begins."

Moving over to the Conner representation, Future M'gann caressed the side of his face with the back of her hand. "And this one. He was the worst offender of them all."

Fighting as hard as she could, M'gann could not get back to her feet. Even using all her concentration, her own diminishing powers were not enough to put up any type of offense or defense. This future version of herself was completely free to do what she wanted. She had all the power between them.

"Stop, just please stop." Feeling the pressure of the other Martian's power, M'gann had to put all her strength in simply keeping herself up on her hands and knees.

"He broke our heart, you know. He broke our heart than made us trust him, then shattered what was left!" With each word, Future M'gann's voice raised until she was almost shouting as she had her hand grow large enough to crush the clay Conner's head. "He was to be the king to our queen." She stalked back over to her younger self. "We were to control the Earth, showing them without our guidance, they would destroy themselves, have everything they love taken away at anytime."

Gesturing with her hand, the White Martian had M'gann fly through the air and slam back first through a wall with the environment around them changing to the main room in Watchtower where any number of the heroes would gather to be deployed on missions.

"With everything that has happened, it was he who had us see we do not need anyone. We are stronger, so much stronger alone than with friends, family, or a lover."

After wincing from the pain, M'gann opened her eyes and saw Conner making his way up to her as she stood before the large window overlooking Earth. Still in her black and red mission gear, the other M'gann turned and welcomed her boyfriend into her arms with a large smile.

"Now pay very close attention," Future M'gann's voice echoed around her, "and you'll see when he rips our heart in two."

(Break)

Awakening with a gasp, Garfield jerked himself up into a sitting position. For a moment, he forgot where he was until he saw Conner stirring beside him. Slowly getting up with his head hurting, the green teen searched the area for any sign of his blood sister before turning back to the Kryptonian/human hybrid.

"Conner? Conner, are you okay?" Kneeling next to him, Garfield saw where his friend nodded slowly.

"Ye-yeah." With a grunt, Conner moved into a sitting position with his head in his hand. "What happened? Where are we?"

"I don't know. I remember B'arzz finding me in the tunnels and telling me to follow him when I saw you. I think it was a trick because some white martin woman came up behind me and mind whammyed me. What happened to you?"

"M'gann knocked me out."

"What?"

"She said and showed me she got her powers back then brain blasted me."

"Sis wouldn't do that, would she? Why would she do that if it was her?"

"I don't know." Getting to his feet with his head still hurting, Conner took a stumbling step then steadied himself on the wall of the cave tunnel. "Something's not right. M'gann wouldn't do that to us. Before she had a secret, but there's nothing causing her to make us black out like that."

"She brain blasted you before?"

"Can you find her?"

"What? Um, no, I can't."

"Garfield, we have to find her. Before I blacked out...I can't explain it, but...we just need to find her."

(Break)

As the two representations of M'gann and Conner embraced, the M'gann being held by her future self saw Conner slip an object from his left sleeve. It shimmered in the light, meaning it was metal. She saw the slightest of movements as his finger looped around a small ring and knew what it was, a grenade. Jerking her head up, the clay M'gann had a tear filled face as she looked into clay Conner's eyes.

Shaking her head, M'gann saw her future self appear to her right with a smug look on her face before having the image vanish.

"He tried to kill us. The one we gave our heart to tried to burn us." Coming face to face with her past self, Future M'gann began to put pressure on M'gann's psychic form, not enough to cause permanent harm but just enough to cause her discomfort. "Because he was weak, because he had no vision of what needed to be done, he chose to be rid of us. But no matter what he had planned, I knew."

Letting her fall again, Future M'gann stomped around her past self while flexing her fists. "We need no one. We're better off on our own. Friends, family, lovers, they all come and go, they all die. They all hurt us. You will continue to be with Conner and become blind to what the real world is. You want your race, the White Martian race to be equal to the Green Martians? You can do that. You want to cleanse Earth of criminals? You can do that. You want a family? Form a family Conner and Garfield? You have the power to do that. It broke our heart to defend ourselves like we were forced to, but a little mental nudge will have them understand. You can easily have Conner as our king, Garfield as our prince, with us, the queen, controlling them both as the family we have dreamt of having all our lives. All you have to do is-"

"No!" Feeling a surge of energy flow through her, M'gann broke free of her future self's mental grip and blasted her backwards. "I'll never be like you!"

Rolling across the ground, which had now turned into the red soil of Mars, Future M'gann looked back up at the floating M'gann who had shifted back into her green skin and black and red mission gear.

"If you are really me, you would know I would never do that. I would never hurt my friends or my family, especially Garfield and Conner.

Sneering, Future M'gann got back to her feet. "You already have, remember? Abusing your powers, flaunting your rebound boyfriend in his face. You didn't care what he felt. You never cared for him like you thought you did until you grew weak again. And what if Garfield finds out about how you tried to erase Conner's mind? What would he think?"

"Stop it! You're, you're twisting things around! I-"

"What if you should erase Conner's mind in front of Garfield? Make him see what monster you really are? What if he sees his blood sister control her boyfriend like a puppet to get the perfect life she wanted ever since leaving for Earth? What if you," the future version of M'gann shifted to match her past self, "simply erase both their minds to get yourself that perfect life you dream about every time we're in Conner's arms?"

"No," M'gann said through gritted teeth. "You stay away from them."

Flashing her eyes red, Future M'gann laughed evilly as she vanished from her psychic realm. "All you need is a push in the right direction. Just one...little...push."

(Break)

Running through the tunnels, Conner and a green hound dog hurried as fast as they could to find where M'gann was. Having turned into a canine, Garfield tried to pick up his sister's scent but was having some trouble doing so. He had never tried to hunt down someone by smell alone but put his best effort in this 'trial by fire'. Conner's shirt, despite it having his scent mostly on it, and sweat, had enough of M'gann's natural body scent for him to use to track her down. It was hard, but he was making small steps in, hopefully, the right direction.

Smelling around the entrance to two new tunnels they came across, Garfield went back and forth time and time again, not sure which direction he should go in.

"What happened," Conner asked. "Did you lose her?"

Morphing back to his human/monkey form, Garfield turned back to the veteran team member. "I don't know. It smells like she went down one tunnel but I think I get the same scent from the other one. It sorta smells like she split up and headed down both."

"Which one's fresher?"

"How would I know? I never did this before. I only morphed into a dog to play frisbee with you guys, not hunt someone down before."

"Just concentrai-"

Bursting out from the side of the wall, M'gann crashed into both Conner and Garfield, knocking out the latter who hit the ground hard. With red rock flying everywhere, Conner could only see dust until he switched to his infrared vision and saw the heat signature of M'gann.

"M'gann, what-"

"Get away form him!" Flying out of the hole, another M'gann, matching the first one exactly, tackled her other self and connected with a hard shot to the other's face. "Conner, get Garfield and ru-AGH!"

Flying backwards, the second M'gann crashed into the wall with the first getting back to her feet and turning to Conner. "Don't listen to her," she pleaded." This thing was in the artifact. It's some sort of creature that copies other beings."

"Don't listed to her!" the floored M'gann yelled as she got up and rushed her other self.

Both Martian women fought hand to hand, slamming the other into the walls, knocking each other down, exchanging blow after blow with fists, kicks, knees, and elbows. It was the mother of all catfights with what appeared to be twins.

Checking on Garfield first and seeing he was okay, Conner could not believe what he was seeing, a hard feat for someone who has fought mutants and monsters on almost a daily basis. In front of him were two M'ganns fighting each other with every physical ability they had. They were identical, everything from their clothing to their freckles matched perfectly.

Landing a kick to the other's mid section, one of the M'gann's pounced on her to bring her down. She then landed several shots to the face before standing and kicking her stomach. "Conner, we have to get out of here. Grab Garfield and I'll lead us out."

"What's gong on. M'gann? What is this?"

"I told you it's-"

"Stay back!" Holding one arm out, Conner made sure the unconscious teen boy was behind him.

"Wha- but Con-"

"I don't know what's going on here, I don't know which one of you is real, but just stay there." Not taking his eyes off her, Conner tried to revive Garfield who only moaned. "Look, if you're the real M'gann, I-"

"Conner," the other M'gann coughed, "get away from her. It's not me."

"She's lying," the standing M'gann told him. "She's a creature posing as me. She says she's from the future and tried to get me to-"

"No, she's from the future and took my form!"

"Conner, please. You have to believe me. I would never hurt you. I love you."

"She's not the one. She want's to control you."

"She want's to control you! She told me in her psychic realm!"

"Shut up!" Conner yelled, the base in his voice was enough to stir Garfield awake. "Just don't move."

Trying to get up, the floored M'gann stuck her arm out and shoved the standing M'gann into the dirt. Turning around, the other M'gann saw Conner jump between them to guard her from any other assault. "M'gann doesn't have powers."

"Con...no," the other M'gann cried a moment before the first laughed.

"Fool." As Conner turned to look at the other one, he saw M'gann had changed into her white corset and blue skirt. Her skin was bone white and eyes a shimmering red. In her arms was Garfield, his neck being wrenched as he struggled against the White Martian's grip. "So easy. Had you believe she got her powers back, all a ploy."

"What are you?" Conner asked just as his body went stiff.

"The future will come to pass," Future M'gann hissed. "You will become what you were destined to be, even if I have to change the past to see it happen."

"No, stop!" Crying out at her future self, M'gann saw her lift Conner and Garfield, phasing them through the rock tunnel toward the surface of the red planet, leaving her alone. As if to add insult to injury, she then had the tunnel collapse around her past self, trapping her in the center of the tunnel where she could not escape.

Trying to chase after them, M'gann leapt into the air but landed soon after. "N, no." She tried again with the same results. She had now lost her ability to fly.

Falling to her knees, M'gann stared blankly at the ground. First her telepathy left her, now her telekinesis had as well. She was stuck. Without the ability to lift herself off the ground, she could not go after her future self. Garfield and Conner were at her mercy and her father and B'arzz were in another tunnel some distance away. There was nothing she could do, no one to call for help. Now everything had been taken from her.


	7. Chapter 7

**Hope everyone had a great Thanksgiving. Also, just wanted to do a shameless plug in but, my ebook 'UCW: Underground Championship Wrestling' is available on Amazon for only .99 cents. If you like the action, drama, romance, and awesome characters I write here, then give it a shot and download the Kindle app for free on your smart phone, tablet, or computer then go drop a buck for my first original novel please. Just look up the name and there ya go.**

7.

The tunnel was quiet. Only the sound of settling rocks cold be heard along with light sobbing. Tightly hugging herself, M'gann shook as she stayed in a kneeling position. Her powers, telepathy, telekinesis, and density shifting, were gone. And now, her body was not feeling right as slowly, she was losing her green coloring and human-like form. Her legs were slowly turning back into her true form's as were her hands. It was involuntary and torturous to see the way, the true way, she felt inside was fading like her powers had done. There was no way to call for help. She did not know where she was in the caves underneath the surface or how far she was from her father and B'arzz, who she hoped were alright.

"P, please. (Sniff) Don't let this be real."

With her eyes tight, M'gann tried to will her form to stop changing, but it was useless.

"Please."

She could now feel her torso begin to change, lengthening and widening her chest.

"Please. Please be a dream."

Her arms were now growing longer with her fingers disappearing until she had two on her hand with a third one on her forearm.

"Please stop," she cried as her tears continued to puddle on the ground. "Please."

Her neck was now lengthening and thickening. Her Martian brain had begun to form at the base of her neck and up to the top of her head where a triangular crest formed. Her face, the one she modeled after the actress in her favorite show, had now vanished and was now skull-like with her pointed teeth showing. Now in her true form, she was much larger but still powerless. Opening her eyes, which had gone from their light brown color to a bright red, she looked at her arms to see they were no longer human in appearance. She had now lost the last of her abilities and feeling nothing but despair at her situation, she let out a pain filled scream. Not even that sounded remotely human.

(Break)

Emerging from the ground, the future M'gann had Conner and Garfield shoot out behind her. Both team members sailed into the air then came crashing down hard, rolling across the rocky soil and coming to a stop separate from each other.

Not waisting a moment, Conner bounced up and charged the white skinned M'gann. With his fist cocked back, he sought to knock her out quickly before she knew what was happening. He failed as she caught his incoming right cross and flipped him over onto his back.

(Tisk, tisk, tisk), she clicked her tongue. "Care to try again?"

Rising up, Conner attempted to deliver a combination of hits as fast as he could. Right cross, left cross, hooks, backhands, uppercuts, all missed their marks as they were dodged or she simply had them phase through her, never dropping the grin on her face.

"Come now. You can try harder than tha-AGH!"

Striking her from behind, Garfield dove down on her as a hawk and pulled her forward by her ponytail, right into Conner's fist. Using her telekinesis, she was able to create a last second shielding in front of her and blocked most of the Kryptonian's straight jab. She was only knocked back a few feet when she took to the air and laughed.

"Think you have me at a disadvantage? Try again!" With her sights set on Conner, she did not see Garfield shift into an albatross with his claws fully open to bring her down. "Bad move, sweetie."

Dodging at the last second, the White M'gann moved to her left. As the green raptor flew past her, she extended her arm and caught him in her invisible hold.

"You, down!" Yelling at Conner, she had him slam back down into the red dirt as he tried to leap up at her then threw the green bird on top of him.

"You're fighting a Martian remember?" she said while landing. "I can see into your minds. I now every move you intend to make. Even if you don't think about it and simply act on instinct, I can still see what you intend to do. I've only gotten stronger since I've had my eyes open, since I got rid of all distractions. And now, there's only one more I have to be rid of."

"Quiet!" Charging again, Conner leapt into the air with his fist cocked back, fully intent on putting the White Martian down when he felt something roughly grab him by the throat and slam him onto his back.

"I would be lying if I said I didn't miss you," the white M'gann said calmly. "Like I told my younger self, you were the worst of all. I gave you my heart."

Lifting him up, Future M'gann brought him close.

"I gave you my body."

She slammed him hard to the rocky red soil.

"I gave you everything."

Lifting him back up, she had him raise to around thirty feet in the air and slammed him down again.

"And what did you do? You threw me away!"

She slammed him again.

"You had to be so righteous. Accusing me of abusing my powers?! How can I abuse them if that's what they were meant for?"

She slammed him again.

"You threw me into the arms of another! I only wanted you! I only needed you but you had to act all noble."

She mentally gripped Conner's legs then whipped him into a nearby boulder.

"And then when you had me believe you forgave me, you shattered what was left of my heart!"

She then slammed him down hard enough to create a shallow crater. "I loved you. I loved you and you broke my heart twice. Well, what happens when a person has no heart anymore?"

Lifting him up, White M'gann had Conner float over to her. His shirt was torn in a few places and his skin was covered in red dust with a tired look on his face.

"You get me." Flashing her eyes red, White M'gann began to invade Conner's mind, gaining a grunt from him as his head whipped back.

"Conner!" Getting back up from being dazed, Garfield tried to come to his aide but was stopped after a few steps. He was then yanked forward and crashed into the hard dirt, crying out as his knee smashed against a rock.

"You, stay!" she ordered the green teen then turned back to Conner as she continued to probe his mind. "I want to know just one thing before...before..."

Wiping her eyes clear of tears, White M'gann steeled herself and regained her composure. "I just need to see if you really cared for me like I always thought you did."

With a flash of her eyes, she entered Conner's mind.

(Break)

Back in the sealed off tunnel, M'gann was busy trying to pull out heavy rocks from one end. Her plan for the time being was to dig her way out, enter the open tunnel on the other side of the fallen rocks, and find her father and B'arzz with the hopes they would be able to stop her future self before she could do anything to Conner or Garfield.

Pulling on an embedded stone the size of her head, M'gann gritted her teeth as her muscles strained to rip it out. Her long fingers had a solid grip on it as she could feel it begin to move. Letting out a grunt, she put all her strength into what she was doing and felt the rock give way. With the heavy stone flying over her head, she fell to the ground just in time to see the rest of the rocks fall, replacing the few she had moved. She was in deep with no way of knowing how far the fallen stones covered.

Letting out a cry, the large Martian let her shoulders sink as she got up on all fours. It was a cry of defeat. Without a way to free herself, M'gann felt as if everything was out of her hands. Neither Conner or Garfield had a chance against a Martian. Both would put up a good fight, she knew, but they will easily fall to the psychic abilities of their foe.

If she could cry, she would, but Martians lack that ability unless they took on a form with it. She could just see it happening. Conner would undoubtedly strike first, trying to end the fight as soon as possible. He would not stop until she or he were unable to stand...or breathe in his case. Garfield would be even more overwhelmed. Not being as experienced, he would depend on his animal transformations to see him through. Regardless, he to would fall. All it would take is for a signal to their brains to shut them down, then she would have lost the two she held closest to her. A small sound, something between a whimper and a growl whispered out of her mouth at the thought.

_"You're strong,_" she heard. "_You're strong and I'm stubborn._"

Recognizing Conner's voice, M'gann stared straight in front of her. Letting out another small cry, she shuddered while letting out a long breath. With her eyes closed she inhaled deeply, held it, then let it out slowly, resorting to what her family taught her by strongly focusing and meditating.

_"M'gann," her uncle's voice echoed in her head. "M'gann, as a White Martian, you will face great challenges here on Mars. But on Earth, you can feel free to be any way you want. Just never change the real you, the you on the inside."_

Images of her standing with Martian Manhunter in the bioship on their way to Earth played out in her head. As she remembered, she let out a long breath and shut her eyes. She could see it so clearly, as clear as the Earth when she saw it from the ship and could not keep herself from gasping at its beauty.

_"It's called Origami, M'gann," Robin's voice said. "See? I can show you how to make a paper rose, bird, or even a boomerang that actually works."_

_A few days after living in the cave, she remembered sitting on the floor of the living area with a young Robin as he fiddled around with paper for an assignment for school. She was fascinated over how many things she could make just from paper. He taught her a great deal of things she would do once enrolled in school and she was so grateful, she had made him a paper model of a giraffe._

Remembering her time with the young boy, her Martian hands turned into the equivalent of fists and shook slightly.

_"Sister's aren't all they're cracked up to be, M'gann." Artemis' voice now filled her head as she pictured her walking in front of her down the halls of the cave after training. "But, I promise I'll try my best to be a good Earth one for you."_

She more than lived up to that promise. It was not long before they were as close as sisters and she even got the blonde archer to loosen up a bit after a while. With that memory, a tingle developed in her lower legs and back.

_Coming out of the kitchen of the old cave, she could see herself holding up a carefully stacked pyramid of cookies. It was her first time trying to get close to Conner, then just Superboy, and she had carefully cut and decorated each one to look like the emblem he shared with Superman. When she came up to the clone, she found herself stuttering a bit as he looked at her when the computer announced the arrival of Kid Flash._

_"COOKIES!" the speedster yelled right as he shot past them and snatched the plate from her hands. He then sped down the hall to one of the day rooms and gorged himself on the sweets meant for Conner who never saw them. "Thanks Megalicious!"_

Now, her arms began to tingle.

_"Very good, M'gann. You are showing a great advancement in hand to hand combat."_

_Working with Kaldur in the training circle taught her many things, the most important of which was keeping herself calm during a fight. The first time she managed to knock him down with the skills Black Canary taught her, and controlling her emotions when going hand to hand, filled her with self pride that she did not need her powers to take control of a fight if she did not need them._

Slowly, her body began to shift from her Martian form back to her more human one.

_"Pillow fight!" With those words, a large pink pillow slammed into her face as Zatanna dove for cover behind the couch._

_"Come on, green girl! Show me what you got!" Throwing a light blue pillow, Raquel beaned M'gann in the head as she prepared herself for a fight with her, Zatanna, and Artemis during an all girl sleep over in the cave. It was her first one and she could not remember if any of them had gotten any sleep that night._

Little by little, her skin changed from white to green while her head began growing the auburn hair she was known for.

_"Sis, you gotta see this!" With Garfield leading her, the Martian chased after him and came to a stop at the edge of a cliff. Looking at where the young boy pointed, she saw a meteor shower just beginning and told Garfield to make a wish as they fell. "You know, ever since I lost my mom, I always wished I could have her back, even if it's only for a minute so I can tell her I love her one more time. But I don't need to do that. I've got you. And I promise I'll do my best to make you proud."_

Remembering the hug he gave her, M'gann flexed her muscles. A small growl escaped her now formed lips as she began to shake.

_It was night, and her family had all gone to bed. It was her first time sleeping in her own home since leaving Earth all those years ago. She had snuck out of her room after her sisters had all fallen asleep and made her way to the living room where she joined Conner on the couch for a bit. The two sat side by side, something that saddened her since she was alone in her head and couldn't feel his thoughts like she had grown so used to. It wasn't long before they switched positions with Conner sitting against the arm rest and she sitting between his legs with her back against his chest._

_"Conner," she quietly asked. "Can I ask you something?"_

_"Go ahead," he told her, just as quiet._

_"Do I deserve a second chance?"_

_Moving his head to look at her better, Conner got a quizzical look on his face. "What do you mean?"_

_"I mean, do I, me...do I deserve a second chance with what I've done? I've hurt you, Kaldur, La'gaan, all because of what I believed was the right thing to do or because I didn't want to be alone." She held onto his forearms tighter as they crossed her chest. "I spoke with my mother. She told me to show you I deserve a second chance, but I just want to know if what happened on the roof was only a, a spur of the moment thing or if, or if you fully forgive me."_

_Holding her tighter, he buried the side of his face in her hair. "I can forgive you. I have forgiven you. But I can't forget. You made one of my worst fears come true. But I made a mistake by leaving you. I ran."_

_Those words hurt her, almost as much as when he first broke up with her._

_"But if I didn't think you deserved a second chance, I wouldn't want nothing to do with you. I guess," he smirked. "I guess I love you too much."_

_"What? What did you say?" Turning slightly to look up at him, her eyes grew wide at what she just heard._

_"You heard me." Smiling, he bent down and kissed her tenderly. Then immediately broke it after a few seconds. "Your dad is asleep, right?"_

_Letting out a light giggle, M'gann nodded and placed her hand on the side of his face as the two kissed again._

Still in a kneeling position, M'gann's entire body shook from what she felt. Every emotion conceivable flowed through her as she began to remember who she was and her friends. She was not alone. She had her friends from the team. She had her family, uncle, Garfield, and Conner.

_"Together_!" she heard Conner's vice again.

Opening her eyes, M'gann had them turn from their light brown coloring to a brighter than the sun green as she scowled. Loose rocks around her slowly began to float into the air with her blue cape and short hair doing the same. Shortly after, the tunnel walls began to shake, causing even more loose stones to fall to the ground with her as the epicenter of the sudden quake. Images of those she held close flashed through her mind as she moved one foot underneath her and gathered all her strength.

Looking upwards, M'gann tightened her hands into fists, popping all five of her knuckles while baring her teeth. Letting out a roar of her own, the Martian shot into the air, phasing through the tunnel ceiling hard enough to leave a small crater where she was.

"_You will not take Conner!_" she thought. "_You will not take Garfield! I will never be you! I, will, never, be, YOU!"_

(Break)

Gasping, Future M'gann dropped Conner and backed up. She had just been inside his mind, just finished seeing all his secrets. What she expected to find was for some form of false feelings for her past self, but it was not what she saw. Nothing was like she had thought inside the mind of her former love.

"No," she hissed while watching Conner groan. "It's a lie. You, you're lying. Somehow, you're lying. You couldn't lov... Not after I...You hate me...her...us!"

Slowly getting to his feet, Conner felt his legs grow weak and fell back to the ground. Crawling on his belly now, he was having a hard time focusing on his surroundings. Being smashed into the ground and having his mind viciously searched took nearly all the fight out of him.

"You, you tried to kill us. You lied to us." looking over at him, Future M'gann gritted her teeth then used her telekinesis to lift him off the ground. "I killed you last. But I think I'll change that now. All she needs is one, good, push, and she'll be on her way to be-"

"NO!"

Rising from the red soil, M'gann hovered in the air with the ground exploding under her a second later, like a geyser of rock and dirt. The force she used to fly trough the soil was that great.

"Leave him alone!"

"You!" Throwing Conner to the side, Future M'gann hovered and faced her past self. "How did-"

"GRAH!" Delivering a hard right hook, M'gann sent her future self back to the Martian floor.

"You, you got your powers back? How, how did she-"

"I figured it out." Hovering over her, M'gann had her eyes shine even more. "Since you're me, we share the same powers. You stole them from me for yourself but now we're even. So get back up, because I'm going to enjoy putting you back down."

Letting out a roar, Future M'gann shot upwards and collided with her past self. Both women tumbled trough the air, each delivering shot after shot to the other. Extra arms would be used to gain the upper hand but for all intents and purposes, it was just like fighting a mirror.

"You fool! Don't you know what you've done?!" Hitting a knee to M'gann's stomach, Future M'gann delivered a flip-kick to separate them. "Both of us can't have our powers at the same time. I need them to stay here!"

"Too bad!" Landing a double fisted charge, M'gann grabbed hold of Future M'gann's corset and fired off several right crosses. "This is my time! My life!"

Spinning around, M'gann connected with a kick to her older self's head, knocking her down into the dirt once again. "Since you don't have much time left, let's see what really happened in your past and my future!"

Faster than Future M'gann could react, M'gann reached out and smashed her palm into her other's face. She then entered her mind.

Across from the two, Garfield was hobbling over to where Conner lay. Sliding beside him, he helped his friend turn over and get to a sitting position. Wincing from the pain in his left knee from hitting the ground hard and cutting himself from the White M'gann's attack, the green teen waited for his friend to get his bearings.

"Conner, you-"

"Yeah, I'm fine, Gar." Looking over to where the two M'gann's were, Conner saw how still they had become with M'gann touching her future self's face. He knew they were in their psychic world and wondered if he should grab her hand to add his strength to hers like he did the first time in Byalya.

It only took several seconds, several seconds for Conner and Garfield but much longer for the two Martian women. Before the two males could do anything, both M'gann's flew backwards like they had just been caught in an explosion. Each came to a stop in the air, ready to continue their fight.

"I knew it," M'gann said. "You lied. Now I'm going to send you back from whenever you came from and never be like you."

"Not entirely." Rushing forward, Future M'gann threw a right cross, only to have it blocked. She in turn blocked one of M'gann's attacks and slid to a stop on the ground. "It doesn't matter. I'm always with you."

Rushing forward, Future M'gann put a great deal of telekinetic energy behind a punch delivered at M'gann's face. Bracing herself, the younger Martian blocked the hit with her forearms and own telekinesis. The result was similar to a sonic boom as a loud thunder roared across the land and dual cones of near invisible air formed around the targeted areas.

Holding their ground, Conner and Garfield felt the pressure of the hit with the wind attempting to blow them back.

"I'll always be with you!" Reaching out, Future M'gann took hold of her past self and began to choke her out. She then met her other hand to block a telekinetic pouch meant to separate them. "It's no use," she said with a dark laugh. "You're from the past. You're weaker than me."

Slowly gaining the upper hand, Future M'gann flashed an evil grin as she pushed her younger self's attack back. "Face it, you have no choice. The past is written and your future, my future, is in place."

Feeling herself losing ground, M'gann winced at how powerful her future self was. It was proving to be too much as beads of sweat cascaded down her face from the strain of just holding her position.

With her eyes closed, M'gann replayed what she saw in her future self's mind. Garfield, he was killed on a mission, killed by Deathstroke for the summit meeting. He had snuck up on the young boy and stabbed him in the back from the shadows. Once she got the news, she blamed the third Robin, Lagoon Boy, Wonder Girl, and Bumble Bee. They were the first ones to suffer for their failure in keeping Beast Boy safe. Had Nightwing not have been there to see her destroy their minds, he would have lived. A complete mental onslaught took care of him.

Kaldur had died in battle, fighting his father and his henchmen where he was severely outnumbered with no chance to escape. Artemis perished while visiting Wally's grave on Earth, killed by an unknown assailant. After taking matters into her own hands, M'gann continued to reek havoc on those striking out against her friends and loved ones. Batman caught her disposing of Psymon once and for all. No one heard of the Dark Knight for a while after that until he issued Zatanna and Rocket on a a mission they would not come back from. By the time the others caught on, she had single handedly taken out over half on the League. As if that were not enough, she decimated Belle Reve and Arkham, taking the super-powered and insane criminals out for all time. She was on a mission to cleanse the world of all hatred, to make a utopia with the private suffering of her lost loved ones fueling her. Even those she rid of herself for not seeing things her way.

Feeling the force her future self used increase, M'gann struggled to fight back. Out of the corner of her eye, she could see Conner getting back to his feet and making his way toward her when he was forced back into the dirt.

The last part she saw in her future self's mind was of her and Conner in Watchtower. He had just returned via Zeta Tubes and made his way over to her. It was the same as she saw earlier but with one major difference, the memory did not play all the way through.

True he had embraced her. True he had pulled a grenade from his sleeve and planned on puling it, setting her ablaze with the incendiary device and saving all of Earth form being mind wiped. But where the earlier vision ended, this one continued.

_"I'm so glad you see things my way, Conner." Looking up at her boyfriend, M'gann had tears in her eyes. "We, we can show everyone the way to peace. No one will have to senselessly lose someone they care for."_

_Holding the grenade pin, Conner tightened his finger around it._

_"There would be no crime. No hatred. Only acceptance and compassion."_

_Pulling the pin just a little, Conner hesitated as he stared into her eyes._

_"And then, and then you and I can be together. Make a family together and make sure nothing bad ever happens again."_

_Swallowing the lump in his throat, Conner tightly closed his eyes then backed away, breaking her hold on him. "I, I can't."_

_"Can't what-" looking at his hands, she saw the grenade he was holding. "C...Conner?"_

_Gripping the explosive tight, Conner let out a loud growl and threw it away. "M'gann, what you're doing here is wrong."_

_"You, you were...you were going to kill me?"_

_Falling to his knees, Conner breathed had as he fought to hold back his own flood of tears. "I can't," he said, shaking his head. "M'gann, you killed our friends. You killed everyone in Belle Reve."_

_"Because they deserved it!"_

_"No! You can't go playing executioner._

_"Like you were just now?"_

_Lowering his head, Conner gritted his teeth. "I can't, I won't do it." Looking back up at her, he saw she was now crying. "Please, M'gann. Don't do this. Don't make another mistake like when you tried to make me forget."_

_Taking her hand, he brought her closer. "Please stop. I love you but just please, stop and come back to me."_

_Kneeling down, M'gann hugged Conner tightly. "I love you too."_

_A moment later, Conner felt his body stiffen. Seeing M'gann come into his view, he felt her place both hands on the sides of his head as twin streams of tears flowed down her face. "Conner, listen to me. I love you, okay? I'll always love you with all that I am. But I have to do this. If you can't be with me on this then I have to move on. This is the only way. I have to end the suffering, the hate."_

_Leaning in, she kissed him with everything she had. It was short, not the kiss, but the life he had left as she used her mental powers to put a stop to his mind. His body slackened, slumping in her arms as she continued to kiss her love._

_Breaking the last kiss she would ever have, M'gann let out an agonizing scream from her loss as she held him tightly while a single tear fell down his cheek. As if to show her old self was gone, her skin turned bone white. She was now truly alone._

Opening her eyes, M'gann put all her power into fighting back. As they glowed bright, she gritted her teeth and began to push back. Grunting now, she saw her future self with a surprised look on her face from feeling the increased pressure. "Then I'll rewrite it."

With a roar M'gann succeeded in breaking the stalemate they had and blasted her future self backwards across the rocky soil. "You said we're stronger alone? That's what you believe?"

Getting up slowly, M'gan's future self found it hard to maintain her balance.

"We are not stronger alone. My friends, family, everyone I care for and who cares for me. We're stronger together, as one!"

Looking at her hand, Future M'gann saw it begin to fade. "N, no. I can't fade away. You, you can't be rid of me. I'm you. You're me!"

"I'm nothing like you!"

"Just one little push, " Future M'gann muttered. "Just one little push in the right direction!"

Sending a wall of rocks into the air, the White Martian forced M'gann to cover up from the attack. When the dust settled, she saw her future self attacking the injured Garfield but was stopped by Conner who had leapt between them.

Grabbing the Kryptonian with her telekinesis, Future M'gann sent him flying into the green teen. She then roughly held Garfield where he lay and lifted him into the air, watching as he struggled to breathe with her metal grip keeping him at bay and Conner down.

"Stop!" the White M'gann yelled. "One more step and the little cretan's neck will crack."

Slamming on her air brakes, M'gann came to a stop and watched in horror as her blood brother began turning blue. "Gar! Let him go!"

With an evil smile, Future M'gann let out a chuckle. "Just one push. His death opened your eyes. His death set into course my existence."

M'gann did not know what to do. Her loved ones were at the future Martian's mercy, just like she was.

"I came back to make sure everything happens the way it should. To make sure you get on the path to become me. I may have begun fading away in my time over something you did recently, which is why I rebirthed myself in the past, but I will make sure you lose everything to ensure my existence. Your future!"

Looking for a way to free her blood brother and Conner, M'gann thought of every conceivable way out of this when she saw a boulder nearby.

"Just, one, little, push." Tightening her mental grip on Garfield, Future M'gann had her eyes shimmer a bright red in preparedness to shut his brain down when she was hit hard by the bolder her past self saw, dropping her hold on the teen boy.

Flying backwards, Future M'gann came to a bone shaking stop on another bolder and let out a shriek of pain. The stone M'gann used on her was jagged on one side and hit her arm perfectly. The result from the impact on the other bolder severed her arm just above the elbow. Falling to her knees, Future M'gann held her nub of a bicep as the rest of her arm faded away.

"Garfield!" M'gann shouted as she ran over to him then wrapped him in her arms. "Garfield, are you okay?"

"Ye, yeah, s, sis." Holding his neck, Garfield worked on standing with Conner helping him. "But who is she?"

"M'gann," Conner quietly said.

The two stared at each other for a moment, their gazes showing the fright at losing the other and relief they were alright. Before ether could say anything, a dark laugh filled their ears.

"You, you think this is over?" Standing, Future M'gann held onto her arm, which dripped purple blood. "You think you won? You can't win this, M'gann."

Standing ready, Conner and an injured Garfield watched the white skinned Martian for any sign of hostility she may have left as M'gann held onto herself tight. All three watched as the M'gann from the future began to fade away.

"Things went different than I expected, but this proves my point. You do have it inside you, the darkness that created me. This, this is the time to stop fooling yourself and just accept your true White Martian nature. The uninhibited nature you come from."

M'gann continued to stare at her future self, full of hate and anger for what happened to her.

"You can't deny it, your true White Martian nature. You can't ignore your thirst for power." She then held up her amputated arm. "Your thirst for blood. And not even the comforts of your loved ones, your friends, relatives, your lover can help you avoid the truth."

Swallowing the lump in her throat, M'gann felt her bottom lip tremble.

"I'll always be with you, M'gann. That pain, that suffering you experience when you lose someone close to you? That's me, hiding in the shadows of the darkest depths of your mind just waiting to get back out. And I will get out. Someday, sometime, you will lose those you care for, those you love. And I will be there, formed again from your pain. Like I said before, I will always be and always will be with you."

Breathing rapidly, M'gann watched as her future self faded out of existence when she heard her in her mind. "_We'll meet again._"

With the future M'gann gone, the three simply stood in complete silence. The wind blew softly, ruffling the Martian's cape slightly as Conner and Garfield searched for any words to say to her. Bowing her head, M'gann let out a choked cry then placed her face in a hand. She began to shake as she reflected on the words her future self told her and all she had seen in their battle.

Feeling her knees weaken, she fell to the ground with both her blood brother and boyfriend coming to her side to hold her. She began to cry uncontrollably. Her entire body shook as she bawled in their arms, afraid of how she would end up in the future and what would happen to them. She hoped there was a way to keep that from happening but for the time being, she just let them hold her as she let her pain out.


	8. Chapter 8

8.

It was a long, quiet journey home. Never had the Martian Bioship been so silent with more than one person inside. M'lder, M'gann's father, and B'arzz were found soon after the battle. Both had been brain blasted and were left with only migraines. Once they were all out, the bodies of the group of Martians were removed and the dig site destroyed. Lacking a reasonable explanation of what officially happened, it was agreed to make it look like an accident as no one would have believed a being from the future had come back to the present to enact a plan for their own existence.

Staying one more day, Conner and Garfield let M'gann enjoy more time with her family. It did her good to be surrounded by her brothers and sisters after what she went through. As for her father, he and B'arzz agreed it was best if every piece of evidence was destroyed and burned every last note. What they would tell the council would have to wait as he was just glad his daughter was safe.

On the afternoon the three black ops members left, Every one of M'gann's sisters and brothers saw her and her friends off with her parents making sure they gave her a long goodbye this time. None wanted to see her go and would miss her, but knew they had to. She was no longer the young girl when she left, she was a young woman with not only a life waiting for her, but a new family as well, including the two who were with her. After touching foreheads with her family, a gesture Martians performed to mentally show and share their love for each other, she boarded her ship while Garfield said bye to the new Martian friends he made. It almost went unnoticed but his blood sister could have sworn one of her sisters, Esm'relda, gave him a peck on the cheek, causing his face to light up red.

With everything that was said, both vocally and mentally, what was exchanged between Conner and M'lder was a mystery. Seeing her boyfriend give her father a nod and tell him something, M'gann waited at the top of the ramp to the cargo hold of her ship as Conner gave her mother a handshake goodbye. Heading up the ramp, he stopped midway and looked up at her, really looked at her like he always had, and smiled.

That was over a day ago.

Sitting alone in her room, her new room in a new hidden base for the team, M'gann ran her hands over her face. The desk she sat at supplied the only light as the gooseneck lamp shone down on an open book laced with her writing.

The diary was Black Canary's suggestion. It was supposed to be a way for her to get her deepest feelings and thoughts out pertaining to what she had just gone through. Her uncle J'onn had sat with her, speaking for hours upon hours on what she did, is doing, and potentially will do. She has been given a powerful mind, she was told. One that would eclipse her uncle's in time. He knew she was damaged from what she has done and was even more so having to battle her future self but as she spoke of her fears of things to come, he reminded her that nothing is carved in stone. Her future was not written as that was what the present was for, and given what has happened, not even the past was unchangeable.

Looking down at what she had written, she went over the page of drying ink with a critical eye. Listed paragraphs noted what she saw in her future self's mind of things to come. Her friends may be dead in the future, her other's future, but she was not going to let that happen from this point on. Every number had a date, every date had a name, and every name had what would happen to that person or persons. This was her private game plan, her way of protecting the ones she loved and her way of protecting herself from herself.

Hearing a knock on the door, M'gann shut her book and slipped it into the drawer of her desk before answering the person behind it. With the door sliding open, she saw Garfield standing in the doorway with a tray of food and a bottle of fruit punch.

"It's, uh, lunch time, sis," the green boy said. "Mal made chili burgers and sweet potato fries. Thought you might be hungry."

Giving him a small smile, M'gann moved to the side and took the tray. "Thanks, Gar."

"And I thought you might want some company so I brought my tray in to." Moving his prehensile tail around, Garfield produced another tray of food.

"I'd love that, Gar. Come on in."

As the door slid shut, M'gann had the chair to her desk pull out for her blood brother to have a seat as she sat on the large inflatable mattress serving as a temporary bed. The new base was a surprise to her, Garfield, and Conner. It was an old Batcave currently being remodeled for the team and the three of them as a new home should they want to stay there. As it was, she had her own room while Conner and Garfield shared another one.

"So how are you doing?" Shaking his drink, Garfield uncapped and set it to the side before grabbing his chili burger and took a big bite out of it. He appreciated Mal using tofu instead of meat for his.

"Better," his sister said as she ate a few of the fries. "It's just hard to shake off something like that. Seeing an evil version of yourself and what you could become will have that effect on you."

"That's why I don't like psychics. They could give bad news."

Nodding, M'gann had a small smile as she fiddled with her drink bottle. "You do know I would never hurt you, right?"

Wiping his mouth clean, the green teen locked eyes with his Martian blood sister. "Well, yeah. You would never do anything to hurt anyone of us."

"That's, that's not true, Garfield. I've hurt a few people on this team. Betrayed one of them."

"Who?"

Scratching the side of the drink lid, M'gann looked at the red drink through lidded eyes. "Conner."

"Is that why you two broke up?"

"Yeah. I did something to really hurt him. I broke the trust we had by trying to...I tried to make him forget he was mad at me for, for ripping information out of others minds. I deserved everything he told me. Deserved him leaving. And I'm desperately trying to prove I deserve the second chance he's given me."

Moving around in his seat to face her fully, Garfield had a surprised look on his face. "But, why? Why would you even think to do something like that in the first place?"

"I already told him. That night Conner came over to Uncle J'onn's apartment and stayed the night with me. I told him I couldn't bear for him to be mad at me like that. I couldn't bear to lose him because of how I felt, always will feel about him. I had told him I was breaking up with-"

Letting out a few 'coughs' Garfield ushered her to go on. She did so with a grin.

"Anyway, I wanted to let 'him' down in private when I was captured. But that was the night I began to see what I was doing."

Looking at her orphaned blood brother, the one she promised to take care of, she let out a breath. "Don't ever let your powers get the better of you, Gar. There's good and bad with the abilities we have. Please, always think before you do anything."

A moment passed as they sat in silence with Garfield letting his sister's words sink in. "Okay. I promise I'll be careful with how I use my powers. But, sis, how would I know if what I do with them is right? You said they're the bad guys, our enemies. I could spy on them as a fly on the wall or, or do something much worse."

"And I don't ever want to see or hear you've done that. All of us could go down that road. I was lucky I saw my mistakes and got off it before I went too far. That's what the future me didn't do. She continued on that path and hurt so many people. She killed. And like I said, I will not be like her. The only difference is, she was alone. She made herself alone. What I do from here on out is for you, Conner, Kaldur, Nightwing, Artemis, everyone I love, because I will not end up like that. I promise I will never do that to you, Gar. I will never do anything like that to anyone I care about, it's not worth it."

Getting up from his seat, Garfield went over to M'gann and wrapped his arms around her in a tight hug. "I promise I won't do any of those things, sis. I love you."

The image of Garfield being killed by Deathstroke flashed in M'gann's mind. That was what started her downward spiral to become her dark self. She knew when and where that would happen, and would make sure it wouldn't.

"I love you too, Garfield. I promise I will always look out for you and protect you."

Later, after she and her blood brother had finished eating and went back to how they normally acted toward each other again, she got another visit from her uncle. Their second talk was just as long as the first, mostly on how it was possible for something like that to happen. While Bart used a time machine to travel to the past, her future self was 'reborn' so to speak. It was scary hearing it, but her uncle did stress to her again how she had the most powerful mind he has ever come across, something he knew from the failsafe mission over five years ago. It also terrified her to know she would only continue to become more powerful over time and what that could potentially lead to. It may have been a possibility her future self was able to mind wipe a great deal of people, bringing about her ultimate plan to make a peaceful utopia out of Earth.

It was well after the others in the base had gone home when M'gann decided to get ready for bed. Coming out of the bathroom from taking a shower, the only one at the present time, she had a pair of boy shorts and a oversized sleep shirt form over her body before unwrapping the towel from around her. Having it levitate to the large canvas bin for wash later, she raked her fingers through her still damp hair before heading to the Batcomputer to see what Garfield was doing to entertain himself when she saw Conner walking across one of many metal walkways around the Batcave.

He looked tired after being gone all day, not that she knew when he left from being in her room sulking since morning.

"Hey," she said quietly. "Did, did you have a mission?"

"Kind of." Adjusting his stance, Conner leaned on the railing as she walked up to him. "I've been talking to Batman, Superman, and Wonder Woman. We've been, I've been telling them about you. About what's been going on with you and what should happen."

"Conner, I, I'll get past this. It'll just take some time but I'll get past what happened. It's not everyday someone learns about their future self and what they could do. It just...really put things in perspective for me. I know what I have to do know."

"And what's that?"

Hugging herself, M'gann looked for any sign of Garfield then formed her and Conner's private mind link. _"Can we talk in my room? Alone?"_

Moving from the rail, Conner let her take the lead, stripping his gloves off as he followed after her. Once in her room, she locked the door and leaned her head against it. Closing her eyes, she tried to think of what to say as he waited for her to turn around.

"You told me how you get terrified when any of your friends are in trouble. I can see how you could feel scared for them more than yourself. I lost it when I saw her, me, future me almost kill Garfield. I could have done a lot worse than I did, but that would have proven I was just like her. I'm more scared at losing you, Garfield, or anyone of my friends more than losing myself. But I know I can't always be there to protect everyone. I have to keep in mind they will be okay. We're trained and taught how to survive and come back safely to each other. That other me was trying to make sure I became her. That's something I swear I will never do."

Walking up to him, M'gann stopped just shy of Conner with her eyes squarely on his. "I know not all of us will make it to the end. Wally and Tula are proof of what we're willing to do to keep others safe. But if I can save our friends, I will. And by extension I will save myself. I know when our friends will fall. I know how to stop them. But I would like to hear your opinion on the matter."

Placing his hands on his hips, Conner let out a breath and gave a small nod. "You don't need my input. But if, if I knew the day, one of us would go on a mission, that one of us would not come back, I would make sure to to change things so that doesn't happen. I would do the same thing you want to do."

"Good," M'gann said with a nod. "Because I was hoping I was making the right choice. If I can save us, I can save myself. But the other me will always be there. She's always going to be waiting for the opportunity to come out through my pain of losing anyone, mostly Garfield and especially you."

Coming closer to him, she placed her palms on his torso. "But if I start becoming like the other side of me, if I begin to do what I told you she did, please, save me and pull the pin. I don't want to be like that and I'll be depending on you to save me if I do."

"M'gann-"

"Promise me, Conner. I don't want to end up like that and if I slip, please just-"

Holding her hands, Conner stared deep into her eyes. "I won't have to. Like I said, you're strong. You won't become like that because I know you won't. You know what's going to happen. You can change it. You can beat her and not become like that because you are strong, M'gann. You're stronger than her because you have us here. She had no one. So I promise you I will be here and if you need my strength, take it. Because I'm not going anywhere. I promised your father, and I'm promising you."

Smiling, something she wasn't doing to much lately, she hugged Conner tight. As he did the same, he kissed the top of her head and placed the side of his head on hers. "Actually, I kind of have to take that back."

Moving to look up at him, M'gann responded, "What?"

"That thing I was talking to the League leaders about? I got them to give you some time off. I told them everything you were going through and what you told me, and they agreed you could use a break. About two weeks."

"They're giving me time off? Just like that?"

"Yeah," he said with a grin, "I also told them you won't go alone, so I had them give Garfield the same time off. Thought you would want it that way."

Her smile brightened a little. "And you?"

"Do you want me tagging along? I won't be here, but I'll still be with you."

Her smile grew to its brightest as she floated into the air and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Wouldn't have it any other way." She then planted a deep kiss on his lips. "_Thank you for the second chance."_

_"Thank you for being you."_

With every thing that had happened, from the moment they first met, to the current moment they were sharing, through good times and bad, the two were always there for each other and always will be. The night ended with them staying in her room and when the others saw her the next morning, she was wearing Conner's shirt again, hand in his, and a bright smile on her face.

**And that does it for Young Justice: Present Future. Hope everyone enjoyed it especilly Skiddz who allowed me to write it based on her artwork, had fun doing so. Thanks for all the follows, favorites, and comments. Really makes posting on here great.**


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